In a nutshell: upstairs downstairs intrigue with a touch of magic
Pattern is not your average housemaid: she’s already foiled one devilish plot, fighting off a dragon in the process, and now she’s a fully trained member of the Silver Service Agency, servants who work undercover to investigate crimes, especially those with supernatural complications. Indeed, her poker-fencing skills are as advanced as her bonnet-trimming. Sent to investigate the disappearance of a young lord, she finds herself on a Cornish island with the mysterious Lady Hawk. Surely rumours of pirates and mermaids are just talk? This cleverly mixes magic and adventure with the sort of satisfaction that only comes from a quiet, resourceful heroine doing daring things (there’s definitely something of Jane Eyre about Pattern). It’s very well-written, the domestic and magical worlds are equally well-described and both full of intriguing detail. ~Andrea Reece
After saving the Grand Duchy of Elffinberg from the jaws of a dragon in The Last Duchess, Pattern has been recruited by The Silver Service Agency to help solve supernatural mysteries. Pattern is dispatched undercover to the Island of Cull as a housemaid to the mysterious Lady Hawk, to investigate the disappearance of a young man called Henry.She quickly discovers that the Isle of Cull has some strange and magical properties, including an unseasonably tropical climate and a party of house guests who seem entirely in thrall to Lady Hawk and her beautiful daughter. Pattern and her new friend Nate are the only ones immune to the spell Lady Hawk has cast, but as the male house guests begin to disappear one by one, they find themselves in a race against time to solve the mystery of the island's magic.
Join Pattern on another dangerous and spellbinding adventure in The Lost Island, the second Silver-Service Mystery from Laura Powell, illustrated by Sarah Gibb.
Laura Powell, who may or may not be a direct descendant of King Arthur, was born in London, but grew up in the shadow of Carreg Cennen Castle in Wales. Much of her childhood was either spent with her nose firmly in a book, or plotting to escape her boarding school, which she hated. Having studied Classics at university, she now spends her time working for the English National Ballet and writing. She lives in Camberwell with her husband and young son.
