Fab Edwardian-period mystery for the 10+ crowd. I really loved the characters and thought their developing friendships and alliances were a real strength of the book. It's a stroke of genius to set a mystery in this period, so that the young teen cast can be self-sufficient and have real autonomy in investigating. The setting was also brilliantly realised, and the clash between the sumptuous and glossy new department store, Sinclair's, and the hints of London's underbelly is clearly drawn. Overall, this is a powerfully presented and highly engaging story which is highly recommended

I finally got around to reading this after it has been sat on my shelf for 5 years! (oops) Having originally been sent a copy by the publisher through Netgalley, I bought a copy of the book when it came out because the cover was just so delightful.

The premise behind this book was very exciting. The opening of the first department store of its kind in London (like the TV show Mr Selfridge). Sophie is recently orphaned and has been lucky enough to find a job at the fantastic new store Sinclair's. However, the night before opening day there is a robbery which sees Sinclair's famous treasure 'The Clockwork Sparrow' stolen and Bert (another employee) shot. Sophie is the main suspect!

The first half of this book was very slow, it took me a while to get into the mystery and for me to develop some kind of connection with the characters. I found Sophie to be slightly annoying at the start because she did seem to be quite 'stuck up' and didn't really seem to understand that the others around her were just the same. However, once the mystery was in full swing, I just had to find out what had happened.

I feel this book is suited to a Year 5+ audience so I will definitely be passing it along to my colleagues to put in their book corner!