Jane Austen Investigates: The Burglar’s Ball

 

The second adventure in Jane Austin’s sleuthing life finds her and her older sister Cassandra visiting their former school by invitation of the headmistress (where Cassandra was a favored pupil). 

When they arrive, it becomes obvious the school has fallen on hard times and the headmistress is hoping that Cassandra will help advertise the merits of the school when wealthy donors attend a holiday ball. 

What the headmistress hadn’t bargained for was that a diamond necklace would go missing during the festivities. Jane is all too happy to sneak around trying to find the culprit. She enlists a friend she made in her first adventure and keeps her brother abreast of developments by post.

I love that Julia Golding included characters from other Austen novels (in younger form). Austen fans will enjoy that nod to her literary works. 

This middle grade novel offers an entertaining glimpse of a bygone era, while offering witty dialogue and clever plot twists to keep readers young and old guessing. I highly recommend this series and hope that young Jane will have many future cases to investigate!

Disclaimer:I received a free digital copy of The Burgler’s Ball from NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.