The Mystery of the Midnight Peacock - Book Review
Katherine Woodfine
MG Mystery
The Sinclair Mysteries #4
UK Publisher: Egmont
Other Books in the Series:
The Clockwork Sparrow
The Jewelled Moth
Synopsis:
You are cordially invited to Sinclair’s Midnight Peacock Ball! The festive season has come to Sinclair’s and Sophie and Lil are spending the holidays at Snowy Winter Hall. But it turns out that this is no ordinary house party…
As sinister secrets come to light, our intrepid heroines find themselves faced with a more baffling mystery than ever before! With the help of their friends, can they uncover the truth in time to foil a truly diabolical plot? Or will Mr Sinclair’s New Year’s Eve, Midnight Peacock Ball spell disaster for the dauntless young detectives?
Prepare for shocks and surprises in the thrilling conclusion to the Sinclair Mysteries!
Review:
From the very first book, I fell in love with the Sinclair’s mysteries. Now The Midnight Peacock brings the series to an epic conclusion, leaving just enough intrigue to insure I’ll be picking up Katherine Woodfine’s spinoff, “The Taylor and Rose Secret Agents.”
As the year 1910 comes to a close, this fourth book sees Sophie and Lil set up their own detective agency within Sinclair’s. Yet suspicions of a ghostly haunting take them out of the department store, to their friends fancy country manor. But is it a ghost stealing the valuables, or something even more sinister?
Meanwhile back in London, Billy and Joe stumble across signs that the brotherhood of the dragon - led by the ever slippery Baron - are active once more. But just how are the two cases connected? And what do they have to do with Sinclair’s Midnight Peacock Ball? Crack open the pages and venture into a world of ghosts, assassinations, secret Societies, and two very brave detectives….
What I loved about this series was how independent & individual each book was. Despite not reading the books in the right order (I accidentally started with book 3!) I had no trouble following the stories. While they do all interconnect, each volume tells its own mystery, and it’s not until this last book that everything clicks together. However now up to date with all four books, I can say with confidence that The Midnight Peacock is the best one yet.
It brings together characters from across every book and through a clever and tricksy plot-line, unites their story threads in a delicious tangle of intrigue. They will leave you open-mouthed at the cunning complexity of it all. I can’t help but applaud Katherine Woodfine for all the hard-thinking and preplanning that must have gone into this series! It’s simply a gorgeous read!
I also like that this story took us outside London and Sinclair’s department store - as wondrous as that setting is - it was nice to see Sophie and Lil’s world grow. Especially as they found themselves in a country mansion, once belonging to Lord Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth I spymaster. Full of secret passages, it was the perfect place for strange things to be happening.
Each character has also gone through some serious growth and development, although it is a little sad to see them all diverging onto separate paths. Lil as an actress, Billy as a clerk and Joe, still the same loveable stable boy. However I’m curious to see what will be next for Sophie, especially as this book finally see’s her solve the biggest mystery of all - her fathers death (and yes, the unveiling is as emotional and epic as you all imagined).
However all the plot lines in this book were a real puzzle and while I worked out some elements (yay me!) so much remained a surprise. Otherwise I adored how Katherine Woodfine worked the suffragettes into the story, even going so far as having Mr Lim teach them KungFu (a handy skill for Sophie and Lil in their line of work, don’t you think?).
All in all though, I loved this book, and can’t help but gush about this series as a whole. I can’t wait for the spin off series releasing in August 2018, and if you haven't already, I urge you to go pick up the first book - A Clockwork Sparrow.
A five star book, with a five star ending to a five star series! :)
What were your thoughts on this book?
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Until next time!
