The first post in my new series, Murder, She Writes!
This cover! Cover and interior illustrations by Júlia Sardà
Let’s start with a delightful middle grade series, The Sinclair’s Mysteries by Katherine Woodfine.
The Clockwork Sparrow, The Jeweled Moth, The Painted Dragon, and The Midnight Peacock.
Set in London in 1909, readers meet Sophie Taylor who recently lost her father and must make a life of her own in the big city. Sophie gets a job as a hat clerk at an extravagant new Sinclair’s department store. There she meets Billy, Lil, and Joe, and they team up to solve the mystery of the missing Clockwork Sparrow, a beautiful jeweled bird that may or may not also be an infernal machine!
The story has rich and accurate historical details, the plot is quick and twisty, and, as a reader, you will find yourself growing quite fond of the characters as they work their way through complex clues and get themselves in and out of increasingly dangerous mishaps.
I also loved the audio version of this book. I have a commute for my day job and often found myself pausing in the parking lot eager to hear the next exciting scene.
Woodfine’s impressive research made me feel as if I had slipped into a time machine and traveled back to Edwardian era London. Sinclair’s where Sophie helps wealthy women try on the latest millinery fashion, has roots in real department stores from the era. You can find out more about the history of these luxury stores in Katherine Woodfine’s blog, Follow The Yellow
The characters come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and as the series progresses, additional characters become more diverse. Woodfine gives each of the characters depth with unique interests and backgrounds. At the core of the story are four friends: Sophie, quiet, intelligent, and persistent; Lil, the adventure-seeker and iced bun devotee; Billy, boy detective hopeful; and Joe, whose kindness leads him away from a gang and into a world with real friends.
Each book has a specific plot with a resolution, but, in addition, a bigger mystery weaves its way into all four books. I found myself surprised and enchanted by the story.
I raced through the books with important questions:
Who is the mysterious Baron?
Is the eccentric Edward Sinclair keeping a secret?
These questions and more were answered with a satisfying ending in The Midnight Peacock.
Woodfine also wrote another series, Taylor & Rose Secret Agents, which takes the characters on thrilling adventures around the world. We’ll visit those books in a future blog post.
The Sinclair’s Mysteries are mysteries worth reading!
Michèle Griskey 