Booky Advent Calendar Day 17: "Rose Campion and the Christmas Mystery" by Lyn Gardner and Jez Tuya (Nosy Crow)

Time for a perilous and exciting bit of pint-sized detective work with the fabulous Rose Campion!

In "Rose Campion and the Christmas Mystery" by Lyn Gardner and Jez Tuya, Rose is getting ready for Christmas, and in particular can't wait for the pantomime season to begin at Campion's Palace of Varieties and Wonders.

Preparations are well under way and there's a touch of snow in the air.

Yet Rose Campion and her friends have more to worry about than who'll be filling the role of Cinderella this year.

The Duchess - the deadly ruler of the London criminal underworld - has been released from prison, and she has her sights set not only on Rose, but also on a priceless emerald necklace that has just arrived in the city.


Meanwhile, Campions' is playing host to the mysterious hypnotist Madame de Valentina - but how is she able to communicate with the souls of departed loved ones - even before they've actually died?

This is tight writing, and exactly the sort of book that we can't get enough of at this time of year, sizzling with awesome twists and turns, filled with seasonal touches of snow and the grand spectacle of the theatre, with an envious cast of mysterious villains to tax Rose to the very limits of her young detective abilities.

Superb, superb, superb!

"Rose Campion and the Christmas Mystery" by Lyn Gardner with illustrations by Jez Tuya is out now, published by Nosy Crow (kindly supplied for review).