The Ruby in the Smoke: A Sally Lockhart Mystery

Book One

By: Philip Pullman

Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh

“BEWARE THE SEVEN blessings . . . ” When she first utters these words, 16-year-old Sally Lockhart doesn’t know their meaning. But when an employee of her late father hears them, he dies of fear. Thus begins Sally’s terrifying journey into the seamy underworld of Victorian London, in search of clues to her father’s mysterious death.

Loved this story!

Engaging story with rich characters I quickly cared about. Well paced page-turner. Excellent narration with distinct character voices.

The reading was extraordinary and so much fun to listen to!

Great story -awesome female lead in 1800’s hard scrabble London… brought the culture to life.

Not the best

I enjoyed the very beginning of the book but it went downhill from there. The overwrought, breathless voice the narrator employed for the main character made her sound helpless which I doubt Pullman had in mind. It threw off the whole book. The story itself used some Conan Doyle type devices with a lot of the the Woman in White to underwhelming effect. The plot twists felt so out of left field that they lost any impact.