The Case of the Glasgow Ghoul

This is the second novel in a series featuring Victorian girl detective Slightly Jones who lives in her Granny’s London boarding house. The adventure begins when one of the boarders asks her to solve the mystery of items disappearing from Glasgow’s Hunterian Museum. The answer is entertainingly preposterous, although it highlights the plight of the street children of the time and has a satisfyingly romantic conclusion. The story romps along, drawing in assorted snippets of Glasgow’s history on the way. One of the author’s aims is to draw attention to lesser known figures and ideas from history. The book ends with the lead in to Slightly’s next case and a set of facts and jokes loosely connected to the book’s themes.

The writing is an odd mix of cod Victorian and modern usage, probably not discernible to the intended reader; some of the Glasgow dialect comes across, but not consistently, and the whole thing goes at such a breathless pace that it’s enjoyable but not to be taken too seriously. A good quick read.