When 13-year-old Lily’s inventor father vanishes on a routine Zeppelin flight, Lily’s determined to find out the truth behind his disappearance. But she’s not the only one searching for her father; there are silver-eyed men in the shadows who will stop at nothing to find him.
With Robert, the local clockmaker’s son, Lily travels to London, where they soon discover that she holds the key to the mystery…a mystery closer to Lily’s heart than she could have ever imagined.
Lily hasn’t had the best of starts in life, she was in an accident and her mum died but she and her dad survived. Lily is now in boarding school but her father Professor John Hartman has changed her surname to hide her identity.
When her dads airship is in an accident and he’s missing believed dead her world takes a dark plunge. She is taken out of school and has to go home with Madame Verdigris who is to look after her along with her godfather Professor Silverfish.
Before the crash Professor Hartman gives a note to Malkin a mechanimal fox and asks him to take it to Lily. Malkin sets off on a dangerous journey with two me Roach and Mould silver eyed men following him .
When Malkin is shot in a village where a young Robert Townsend lives with his clockmaker father Thaddeus. Robert decides to rescue the fox and his father repairs him recognising the cog works as being Hartmans.
After Mrs Verdigris starts getting rid of the mechanical servants Lily begins to wonder what’s wrong. Robert decides to deliver the note to Lily as Malkin can’t travel yet. The note has a huge hole in it where the bullet hit.
When Lily gets the note she goes looking in her fathers safe and finds a wooden box believed to hold an important invention of her fathers but it’s locked and she needs to find the key. With Robert and Malkins help the dangerous adventure begins.
I’m a huge fan of steampunk especially set in Victorian England. When I discovered a children’s book under this genre I knew I had to read it.
I loved the setting of the book which is London and Peter Bunzls descriptive writing especially when he talks about the airships floating over London. I actually could visualise this. The mechanicals (mechs) as they are referred to in the book were wonderful too. Mrs Rust the housekeeper with her many interchangeable arms for cooking with was especially a favourite of mine.
The reason for the title of the book doesn’t become apparent till towards the end of the book and I didn’t see the twist coming.
Some Steampunk adult books can be a little boring with the stories all being written pretty much the same . This however has loads of twists and turns in it and kept me enthralled to the very end.
This book is rated at 9-12 year olds but any adult who loves airships and adventures would love this too. I’ve quickly moved onto the next instalment Moonlocket. This book got a well deserved 5 stars.
gilly918 