Rose Campion,
sharp-minded and observant, is back to try and save Campion’s Palace of
Varieties and Wonders from financial ruin. The sequel to Rose Campion and the Stolen Secret sees Rose using her detective
skills to solve mysteries and weed out pretenders.
She leads a cast of amazing
and complex characters that hide secrets. The whole story is swathed in mystery,
and propelled by a chain of extraordinary adventures, including murders to
solve. Fast-paced and tension filled, you can’t put this down.
Aurora and Effie,
Rose’s friends that joined her at the Palace, experience change as life
prepares to surprise them all.
Effie is called to
farewell her dying mother at the jail. Her old life is replaced by a new one
when she becomes the Illustrious Gandini’s assistant. Gandini is seen as Campion’s
saving grace.
Aurora has found her
father Edward, a noble man. She goes from sharing the stage with Rose, to being
groomed for a higher class status by the enigmatic actress Lydia Duchamp when
she and Edward fall in love.
While Gandini mesmerises
with his stage show, the famous Star of the Sea diamond is stolen from Lydia’s
neck. Also known as the Doomstone
Diamond, it has a cursed history and no owner is safe.
Then the murders
start.
The drama begins and
intensifies early in the story. Suspense increases when everyone appears a
suspect. New characters enter and exit the scenes, creating more questions to
be answered.
Rose observes,
registers and memorizes. Her talent for noticing people out of place causes her
active mind to sizzle and spark. But no one is interested in a child’s point of
view.
As Rose begins sorting out the pieces,
additional deaths occur. She decides that everything is linked. Many questions
are answered and secrets are revealed.
There is one question
that remains a festering sore for Rose. Who is her mother?
There’s not a static
moment in this story. It’s full of
action. The countless twists and turns, continual reveals and cover-ups, will keep
the reader guessing.
Title:
Rose Campion and the Curse of the Doomstone
Author:
Lyn Gardner
Publisher:
Nosy Crow, $14.99
Publication
Date: March 2017
Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9780857638441
For
ages: 9+
Type:
Mystery Adventure
