Six years after solving the mysteries surrounding the death of her father (in The Ruby in the Smoke), Sally Lockhart has set up her own consulting business. But her photographer friend, Fred Garland, has a habit of drawing her into his private detective work owing to her skill in both finances and firearms. When one of Sally's clients loses a large sum of money invested in a shipping firm and Fred encounters a conjurer on the lam from underworld thugs, the two begin to find links in these apparently disparate cases.

Exquisitely written and packed with a wonderfully diverse, often terrifying cast of characters and dark twists and turns of plot, the second installment of the Sally Lockhart trilogy--an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Booklist Editors' Choice, and a nominee for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Mystery--is entirely impossible to put down. Make sure book 3, The Tiger in the Well, is close at hand as you near the end of this one. (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter


From Publishers Weekly
Termed by PW a "brilliant bauble," this sequel to The Ruby and the Smoke finds Sally Lockhart, six years later, embroiled in high-level government chicanery; the mystery's tangled threads are "quite elegantly tied up." Ages 12-up. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up Murder, mayhem, and mystery are once again the bill of fare as Pullman returns to Victorian England and the unconventional life and adventures of Sally Lockhart. Now 22 and a spirited early champion of women's rights, Sally finds herself involved with chicanery at the highest levels of government as she attempts to recover money lost by one of the clients of her financial consulting firm. She and her old friends, private detective Frederick Garland and Jim Taylor, undertake investigations which lead to a deadly confrontation with the evil Axel Bellmann, the wealthiest man in Europe and creator of a weapon so powerful as to change the course of empires. As he did in The Ruby in the Smoke (Knopf, 1987), Pullman once again demonstrates his mastery of atmosphere and style. Readers of that first book may be put off, however, by the more somber tone and the thematic and symbolic weight of the second, which demand special maturity and sophistication of its readers not only to grapple intellectually with such issues as the moral implications of the Industrial Revolution and the dehumanization of man by machine but also to deal with both the sexual expression of Sally's growing love for Frederick and the violent deaths of leading characters. Too many of the characters seem to be manipulated for thematic ends, and one wonders if the conventions of the mystery/adventure genre are not too fragile to bear the weight of Pullman's thematic ambition. Such issues are sure to inspire spirited discussion, the resolution of which may have to await the final volume in the trilogy. Michael Cart, Beverly Hills Public LibraryCopyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Sally Lockhart is a financial consultant in London in 1878--a highly unconventional single girl in Victorian times. When a client loses her life savings because a shipping company collapses, Sally investigates. This is a quirky mystery involving a Scottish magician who has "sensed" a murder, a frightening new gun developed by a power-hungry Swede, and a sweet romance with Fred, a photographer/detective. Anton Lesser's sense of character is peerless. He creates a slightly softer voice for Sally, a wonderful Scottish accent for the magician, and a range of class accents for the various members of Fred and Sally's circle. Lesser delivers a spellbinding performance that intensifies the suspense and makes the villain more menacing. A.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2005 YALSA Selection © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Review
"The action is fast, individual scenes are tight and dramatic, the language is vivid and rhythmic, and the wealth of minor characters are sharply individualized....An immensely entertaining thriller."--Booklist (starred review)


Review
"The action is fast, individual scenes are tight and dramatic, the language is vivid and rhythmic, and the wealth of minor characters are sharply individualized....An immensely entertaining thriller."--Booklist (starred review)


Book Description
"Fraud, fire, and bloody murder pursue Sally Lockhart in a fine sequel to The Ruby in the Smoke. Sally, now 22, is in business as a financial consultant. When she and her friends challenge corrupt financial interests, they find themselves in a web of intrigue that stretches from fetid slums of the poor to the corporate offices of the richest man in Europe. Sally's detective work reveals the connections between corrupt power and broken lives. The action is fast, scenes are tight and dramatic, the language is vivid, and the wealth of minor characters are sharply individualized. An immensely entertaining thriller."--(starred) Booklist. Reading level: 6.7.


Card catalog description
In 1878 in London, Sally, now twenty-two and established in her own business, and her companions Frederick and Jim try to solve the mystery surrounding the unexpected collapse of a shipping firm and its ties to a sinister corporation called North Star.


From the Inside Flap
The year is 1878, and Sally Lockhart has started her own financial consulting business. When a client loses a fortune in the unexpected collapse of a British shipping firm, Sally is determined to find out why. But as she comes closer to learning the identity of the firm's elusive owner, she discovers that her questions are far from simple --and that the answers could cost her her life.

"Fraud, fire, and bloody murder pursue Sally Lockhart in a fine sequel to The Ruby in the Smoke. Sally, now 22, is in business as a financial consultant. When she and her friends challenge corrupt financial interests, they find themselves in a web of intrigue that stretches from fetid slums of the poor to the corporate offices of the richest man in Europe. Sally's detective work reveals the connections between corrupt power and broken lives. The action is fast, scenes are tight and dramatic, the language is vivid, and the wealth of minor characters are sharply individualized. An immensely entertaining thriller."--(starred) Booklist. Reading level: 6.7.  


About the Author
Philip Pullman was born in Norwich, England and was brought up in Rhodesia, Australia, London and Wales.  Philip graduated from Oxford University in 1973 with a degree in English, and has taught middle school at Westminter College.  He is the author of many highly-acclaimed books for young readers, from contemporary fiction to Victorian thrillers, and has written plays and picture books for readers of all ages.  Philip's current book, The Golden Compass , has been hailed as "a rich combination of high fantasy, high drama, and intense emotion" by author Lloyd Alexander, and "extraordinary storytelling at it's very best" by the Detroit Free-Press .

Philip currently lives in Oxford with his wife, Judith, and children.  

ANNOTATION

In 1878 in London, Sally, now twenty-two and established in her own business, and her companions Frederick and Jim try to solve the mystery surrounding the unexpected collapse of a shipping firm and its ties to a sinister corporation called North Star.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The year is 1878, and Sally Lockhart has started her own financial consulting business. When a client loses a fortune in the unexpected collapse of a British shipping firm, Sally is determined to find out why. But as she comes closer to learning the identity of the firm's elusive owner, she discovers that her questions are far from simple —and that the answers could cost her her life.

"Fraud, fire, and bloody murder pursue Sally Lockhart in a fine sequel to The Ruby in the Smoke. Sally, now 22, is in business as a financial consultant. When she and her friends challenge corrupt financial interests, they find themselves in a web of intrigue that stretches from fetid slums of the poor to the corporate offices of the richest man in Europe. Sally's detective work reveals the connections between corrupt power and broken lives. The action is fast, scenes are tight and dramatic, the language is vivid, and the wealth of minor characters are sharply individualized. An immensely entertaining thriller."—(starred) Booklist. Reading level: 6.7.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Readers first met the intelligent, inquisitive and independent Sally Lockhart in The Ruby in the Smoke. Now comes this second brilliant bauble, perhaps more foreboding and terrifying than the first, thanks to Pullman's care in creating lively, superheroic characters and then, just as heroically, killing them off. Six years after the close of the first book, Sallynow 22 and still galloping over Victorian conventionsis embroiled in high-level business and government fraud; lest this sound dry, there is also a secret weapon (``the shadow'' of the title) under development north of London that, in this setting, is as threatening as a nuclear arsenal. The mystery has many more tangled elements than the first tale, but they are all untangled and quite elegantly tied up; readers will weep at the deeds of true villainy and smile through their tears at the close, as they are offered Sally's radiant look to the future, to unfold in a promised final volume of the trilogy. Ages 12-up. (March)

School Library Journal