"Beware the seven blessings." When she first utters these words, sixteen-year-old Sally Lockhart doesn't know their meaning. But when an employee of her late father hears them, he dies of fear. Thus begins Sally's terrifying journey into the seamy underworld of Victorian London, in search of clues that will solve the puzzle of her father's death. Pursued by villains and cutthroats at every turn, she at last uncovers two dark mysteries. One involves the opium trade; the other, a stolen ruby of enormous value. Sally soon learns that she is the key to both and that it's worth her very life to find out why.
Philip Pullman is in top form with this riveting YA mystery full of all the underworld villainy and Victorian intrigue that 1870s London can muster. Narrator Anton Lesser is a marvel delivering the voices of a vengeful hag with oversized dentures, street-tough children, dazed opium smokers, and 16-year-old Sally Lockhart and her array of intriguing, steadfast friends. Lesser deftly navigates London's many accents as Pullman's quick plot turns from terror to humor. THE RUBY IN THE SMOKE is the first in the Sally Lockhart Trilogy, and Anton Lesser is cast to play all of the trilogy's characters and perils. K.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2005 ALA Notable Recording (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
School Library Journal (starred review)...
"A rip-roaring adventure story filled with cutthroat villains,dastardly deeds, sleazy opium dens, filthy London slums, and a delightful heroine...Splendid descriptions, plot twists and turns,and understated humor engage readers in this tale of murder, mayhem, and mystery."
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