Rubies and Runaways Synopsis

The Clockwork Sparrow meets Downton Abbey.

It's a bitterly cold winter in Yorke and Rose Raventhorpe and her butler Heddsworth are stuck with Rose's unpleasant cousin Herbert, and his equally horrible butler, Bixby. When an orphan boy named Orpheus interrupts the Cathedral's Mistletoe Service, saying that his sister has been kidnapped, Rose vows to help. Solving the mystery will be a lot better than accompanying ghastly Herbert! But the investigation is more complicated than Rose has anticipated and will lead her and her butler friends through fancy tea-rooms, horrible factories, secret underground passages and more...Fireplace pokers are much more dangerous than you might imagine ...

Rubies and Runaways Reader Reviews

Some of our Lovereading4kids Reader Review Panel members were lucky enough to read and review the first in this series, Black Cats and Butlers. You can read their full reviews by clicking here.

• Kitty Sidaway, age 9 - 'When you read this book, you will be on the edge of your seat...It is probably one of the best books I have read.'
• Emma Corden, age 11 - 'This book is so filled with mystery. It’s one of the best books I have ever read.'
• Zoe Basson, age 9 - 'This book was a creative mix of mystery murder and romance.'
• Amina Hassan, age 10 - 'I loved this book the clues all fitted well together. A cross between mystical and magical to murder and gruesomeness. You will be spellbound but scared. I loved Janine Beacham’s book.'
• Toby Little, age 9 - 'I liked the book because it has a really good storyline, and I kept asking myself what would happen next. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes an action-packed book.'
• Elizabeth Bridgeman - 'This book is thrilling!..The rating will definitely be 5 stars...This is set in the Victorian times... but is not boring it is very fast and interesting.'
• Ella O'Gorman - 'There is a mix of light and dark moments in this book that together make it a fascinating read and there is a great combination of characters.'
• Suhaiba Khan, age 9 - 'Once I picked the book I did not want to put it down.  This book made me use my imagination it was like I was a teacher.  It was a good book.'

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All versions of this book

ISBN: 9781510201316
Publication date: 13/07/2017
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers an imprint of Hachette Children's Group
Format: Paperback

Book Information

About Janine Beacham

Janine Beacham is a former journalist but gave up journalism to raise her family. Instead she found herself concentrating on writing fiction. She has always loved fairy tales and fantasy, and as a child would make up games for her friends to play at school. Janine once won a competition where the prize was a real-life butler – which partly inspired the secret society of butlers in the Rose Raventhorpe Investigates series. Janine lives in Western Australia with her family. 

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