When Scarlet''s grandma goes into a retirement home, she must sort through her belongings in the cramped flat above a shop in Crouch End, north London. Here Scarlet comes across a real treasure: a novel that Gran wrote, imagining the life of a girl just like Scarlet, who once upon a time lived in the flat and worked in a cake shop downstairs. But as Scarlet reads about Ruby''s life in Victorian London, she begins to realise this is no piece of fiction - Ruby was real! A real life, facing real danger - and a mystery that unravels to the present day.
Karen McCombie is the bestselling author of over 90 books for children and teenagers including the Carnegie Medal-nominated Little Bird Flies, How to be a Human, and series St Grizzle's School for Girls and Indie Kidd. Karen is also the author of the bestselling and much-loved series Ally's World.
Originally from Scotland, she now lives in London with her family who all give her inspiration for her books, whether they like it or not. Read more about the author here.
