Tag: susan green

Verity Sparks and the Scarlet Hand, by Susan Green

Papa was strolling towards the exit and as I turned to follow him, I saw her. In the cloud of smoke and steam left by the departing train, she appeared ghostly and indistinct, but as she moved towards us every detail sharpened. The grey dress, the modish hat, the beautiful face with deep brown eyes. My heart began to thump wildly. She was following me. It had been her all along, in the train, in Collins Street, in the Book Bazaar, perhaps even on the St Kilda Esplanade. Who was she? Why was she shadowing me? Did I have the courage to confront her?
But in a flash I relaised that I didn’t want to. Papa must not see her. This woman looked so much like Mama. It would only upset him.

Verity is happy with her Papa, and their ever-growing circle of friends. But a strange lady is following her – a woman who claims to be a relative, even though that seems impossible. When Verity and her friends go to the country for a holiday, it seems she can forget about the stranger for a while, and relax. But strange things are happening, and when Verity’s friend, Druscilla, and Helen, the wife of their host, are kidnapped, the holiday comes to an end.

A ransom note warns that police must not be involved, so the family’s friend, SP, investigates. Verity tries to help, but her visions, which seem to be offering clues, are confusing. Why was a red glove left at the scene of the kidnapping, and why do her visions also link to the colour red? And does the disappearance have something to do with the strange lady who was following Verity?

Verity Sparks and the Scarlet Hand is the third book featuring this fiesty heorine. Verity is part-detective, part mystic, with her visionary skills proving useful, though she struggles to understand or harness them. Set in 1880, in colonial Victoria, and featuring a wide range of characters from around the globe, the story will engage strong readers with a love of mystery and of historical fiction.

Verity Sparks and the Scarlet Hand, by Susan Green
Walker Books, 2015
ISBN 9781922244895

Also in the series:
The Truth About Verity Sparks
Verity Sparks, Lost and Found

Verity Sparks, Lost and Found by Susan Green

The Dream.

I was looking for something.

But what was it? Mist swirled around me and I could see only as far as my outstretched hands. Grey shapes – were they trees or rocks? – loomed up and then vanished as I ran past. My ribs ached and my breath came in ragged gasps, but I couldn’t stop. I had to find it.

I looked down at my fingers, willing them to itch or tingle, to give me a sign, to show me what I was searching for. But they were just ten ordinary digits, like everyone else’s. How could I find it if I’d lost my gift?’

The Dream.

I was looking for something.

But what was it? Mist swirled around me and I could see only as far as my outstretched hands. Grey shapes – were they trees or rocks? – loomed up and then vanished as I ran past. My ribs ached and my breath came in ragged gasps, but I couldn’t stop. I had to find it.

I looked down at my fingers, willing them to itch or tingle, to give me a sign, to show me what I was searching for. But they were just ten ordinary digits, like everyone else’s. How could I find it if I’d lost my gift?’

Verity has found her father, and moved from 1879 England to the much younger city of Melbourne. It’s a very different life to her early years when she was apprenticed to a milliner and struggling to keep her job and make a living. Her re-found father wishes to give her every advantage and send her to an exclusive boarding school. She finds mystery there, despite the apparently loss of her finger-tingling ability to find lost things. In this case, it’s a ‘who’ rather than a ‘what’ that is lost. The action moves from Melbourne into the hills of Mt Macedon, as Verity and her friends seek answers. But it’s difficult to tell sometimes who to trust. Verity also discovers that not everyone has been as lucky in life as she has, and that help means different things to different people.

Lost and Found is the second Verity Sparks mystery adventure. The first, ‘The Truth about Verity Sparks’, is set in working class London in the second half of the 19th century. This second mystery adventure introduces many new characters in this next stage of her life. And her life is very different, not just because she is half-way around the world in colonial Australia. But Verity is the same, and mystery finds her. There are clues to be followed, mysteries to be solved. Woven through this adventure are titbits of history and place, giving life to another time. As in ‘The Truth about Verity Sparks’ there are villains and heroes, although it’s not always clear initially which are which. Themes include trust, hope, family and friendship. An entertaining adventure mystery rich with historical curiosities. Recommended for middle-primary readers.

 

Verity Sparks, Lost and Found, Susan Green Walker Books Australia 2013 ISBN: 9781921977886

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

The Truth About Verity Sparks, by Susan Green

Verity Sparks worked as a trimmer for a fashionable milliner until a devious scheme by others sees her turned into the street. Verity plans to return to her aunt and uncle’s house but when she reaches there, her horrible uncle quickly assures her she will never be welcome there. She is alone, homeless and jobless, with only her talent for finding things, and a few precious trinkets from her dead mother. But it seems her luck is about to change…

My name is Verity Sparks, and I’ve got itchy fingers. The professor calls it teleagtivism. Sounds more like a disease, doesn’t it? But it’s not. It’s more like a talent. A gift. I’ve always had it, but I didn’t know I had it until the summer of 1878. It happened the day I finished the yellow hat.

The hat was mostly feathers, with one poor little bird left whole and stuck onto the brim. ‘Like a dead duck on a plate, ain’t it?’ I said as I held it up.
Madame sighed. ‘Yes , it is. But it’s what she asked for. Oh, dear!’ She fussed around on the work bench for a few seconds, and then sighed again. ‘My spectacles, dear – have you seen my spectacles?’

Verity Sparks worked as a trimmer for a fashionable milliner until a devious scheme by others sees her turned into the street. Verity plans to return to her aunt and uncle’s house but when she reaches there, her horrible uncle quickly assures her she will never be welcome there. She is alone, homeless and jobless, with only her talent for finding things, and a few precious trinkets from her dead mother. But it seems her luck is about to change. She joins a Confidential Inquiry Agency, proves very good at her job and finds some new friends. But there is mystery around Verity’s beginnings. The closer she comes to discovering the secrets of her birth, the greater becomes the threat to her life and the lives of those around her.

Verity hasn’t ever expected a great deal from her life. She had loving parents until illness took them. Life at the milliner’s is as good as she could expect. She works long hours for little money and even smaller thanks from the wealthy clients. But she is grateful for work and a roof over her head. She has never questioned her talent for finding things. She adjusts well though to a new life where she is respected and valued, although occasionally questions her luck. She learns to trust her judgement about people and the gift she has. The Truth About Verity Sparks is a fascinating trip through Victorian London at a time when men and women were questioning their own truths and investigating the physical and the metaphysical. It is also a story about a girl finding her place in the world with the help and hindrance of those around her. Recommended for mid- to upper-primary readers.

The Truth About Verity Sparks

The Truth About Verity Sparks, Susan Green
Walker Books 2011
ISBN: 9781921720277

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

This book is available in good bookstores or online from Fishpond.