The Pick-Pocket Series, 2

When thirteen-year-old Bertram Jordan is arrested and sent to a penal colony in Australia, his biggest regret is leaving behind his friend Alice Truelove. The children were each other's comfort when they had to live rough on Wednesbury heath, surviving on whatever meager funds they could pilfer from passing market goers. Now they must face their futures alone.

I loved finding out how BJ and Alice were getting along without each other to rely on.

BJ is serving a seven-year sentence in a penal colony in Australia. Mac, the owner of the land where BJ was sent, takes BJ under his wing and gets John to give the boy an education. BJ comes up with some good ideas for the land, but they also find something they never expected.

Alice's bakery shop is going from strength to strength. She can barely keep up with demand. The girls who work behind the counter are rushed off their feet, the queue is always out the door. Alice debates opening another shop, but would it have the same success?

I loved this book from beginning to end. The characters are mostly endearing, but there are a couple I immensely disliked. It is a heartbreaking, quick, and easy book to read.

Published 25th October 2024

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #LindseyHutchinson for my ARC of #ThePickPockestPlight in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to start this book, and wasn’t disappointed.
Having adapted to life on the ranch BJ is still longing for his friends Colin and James who unknown to him are working for a cruel taskmaster, will they ever escape!

Alice is working hard and growing her business with the help of the Wilkins family. As Alice has grown her business she has grown in confidence and is able to deal people who still think women shouldn’t be in charge.

Firstly, it was a great overview of the first book.
I loved the descriptions of both settings which were easy to envisage.
My favourite character was Alice, least favourite, most definitely Bones and Kane.
Please say there will be another.

Beautifully written, compelling and thought provoking, I was drawn by the cover and blurb, not one I would normally read but I’m glad I did, im recommending this to my book club as I’d love to chat about this to others, thanks to net galley for the advanced copy.

Brilliant read with some equally brilliant characters, love Alice and BJ and their story and how they change their luck, I'm hoping there will be another in this series as I need to know what happens next and if Alice and BJ finally reunite

A sweet story that’s second in a series but works fine as a standalone. My one quibble is that nothing really bad happens, the bakery expands with little problem and BJ find a way to get back to Alice … I would have liked the characters to experience more hardship to earn their happy ending.