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Dec 07, 2018IndyPL_SteveB rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Before Pullman became famous for *The Golden Compass*, he made a name for himself with the exciting Sally Lockhart history-mysteries set in Victorian England. Sally is an intrepid young woman making waves in a time period when women were just beginning to be allowed to own property and run businesses. In *The Ruby in the Smoke*, Sally is 16 and has discovered that her seaman/businessman father has just died in a shipwreck, under mysterious circumstances. In trying to get access to the funds she is supposed to have inherited, she becomes involved in a plot to find a massively valuable ruby with a history of murder. Villains abound, especially the creepy and violent Mrs. Holland, one of the nastiest female villains ever. Fortunately, she also gains friends – especially the dreamer/photographer Frederick Garland and the office boy Jim Taylor, who wants to be a playwright. The book is incredibly tense, with deep characterization and a complex plot. Teenage level.