The Riddle of the Disappearing Dickens

You might think Bram (Stoker) and Molly (Malone) are unlikely best friends. The future author of Dracula is ‘quality’, living in Dublin with his well to do parents, while Molly is an accomplished pickpocket and head of the Sackville Street Spooks gang of junior thieves. But, as depicted in these lively adventure stories, they are both sharp-witted, quick thinking and full of curiosity – no wonder they get on so well. In this the third in the series, the friends are in London with Bram’s parents, and they’ve arrived at a particularly exciting time. St Stephen’s Tower has just opened – Big Ben would be a good name for its bell, muses Bram – and Nelson’s Column is still new-ish and a novelty. The two have a habit of stumbling across mysteries wherever they are and sure enough, they’re just about to enter the British Museum when news breaks that Charles Dickens, Bram’s hero, has been kidnapped. Of course, they immediately determine to rescue him picking up the first clue in the Lyceum Theatre and having the second drop into their laps in Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub. Meanwhile, back in Dublin, Molly’s gang are having their own equally exciting adventure with an escaped gorilla. The two plots unfold in perfect tandem, thrills and comedy equal throughout, and it’s all sprinkled with literary references to Dickens. The characters convince, even the cockney-rhyme spouting villains, and the settings – a tale of two cities – do too. This is a page-turning treat for young readers and lucky the teacher or parent who gets to share the story.