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Jack of Spades
May 1910…
Linda’s father is missing in Paris, and her only clue is the Jack of Spades card that was sent to their home in London. In the family code, 'Jack of Spades' means danger. But it is not her father's handwriting on the envelope!
Setting out to look for him, Linda is soon whirled into a frightening world where nothing is as it seems. Who are the people following her? What was her father really doing in Paris? Who can she really trust? As she works against time to try and solve the mystery of her father’s disappearance with the help of some new friends, Linda begins to realise that she has stumbled into a dark and dangerous conspiracy which threatens the future of the whole world…
A gripping, original thriller for older readers by award-winning author Sophie Masson.
Linda’s father is missing in Paris, and her only clue is the Jack of Spades card that was sent to their home in London. In the family code, 'Jack of Spades' means danger. But it is not her father's handwriting on the envelope!
Setting out to look for him, Linda is soon whirled into a frightening world where nothing is as it seems. Who are the people following her? What was her father really doing in Paris? Who can she really trust? As she works against time to try and solve the mystery of her father’s disappearance with the help of some new friends, Linda begins to realise that she has stumbled into a dark and dangerous conspiracy which threatens the future of the whole world…
A gripping, original thriller for older readers by award-winning author Sophie Masson.
- GenresYoung Adult
210 pages, Paperback
Published April 3, 2017
About the author
Sophie Masson
131 books149 followersBorn in Indonesia of French parents, Sophie Masson was sent to live with her paternal grandmother in Toulouse, France, when she was just a baby and lived there till she was nearly five, when her parents came back from Indonesia and took her to Australia. All the rest of her childhood, the family stayed in Australia, with frequent trips back to France, and this dual heritage underpins a good deal of Sophie's work.
Sophie's first book appeared in 1990 and since then she has published more than seventy books, for children, young adults and adults. Her books have been published in Australia, the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and many other countries. She has also had many short stories and articles published in newspapers, magazines, and online journals.
Sophie holds a BA and M.Litt in French and English literature, and a PhD in Creative Practice. A former Chair of the Australian Society of Authors, she is the current Chair (2021) of the New England Writers' Centre and of the Small Press Network. She is also the President committee of the New England and North West sub-branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia, NSW branch.
Sophie has received several awards for her creative work, including the Patricia Wrightson Prize in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, and the YA category of the Aurealis Awards. In 2019 she received an AM in the Order of Australia for her significant service to literature as an author, a publisher, and through service to literary organisations.
Sophie's website is at www.sophiemassonauthor.com
She has a writing blog at www.firebirdfeathers.com
Her You Tube channel, with trailers to many of her books, is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLa...
She is also a regular contributor to the popular authorship blog Writer Unboxed, www.writerunboxed.com
Sophie's first book appeared in 1990 and since then she has published more than seventy books, for children, young adults and adults. Her books have been published in Australia, the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and many other countries. She has also had many short stories and articles published in newspapers, magazines, and online journals.
Sophie holds a BA and M.Litt in French and English literature, and a PhD in Creative Practice. A former Chair of the Australian Society of Authors, she is the current Chair (2021) of the New England Writers' Centre and of the Small Press Network. She is also the President committee of the New England and North West sub-branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia, NSW branch.
Sophie has received several awards for her creative work, including the Patricia Wrightson Prize in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, and the YA category of the Aurealis Awards. In 2019 she received an AM in the Order of Australia for her significant service to literature as an author, a publisher, and through service to literary organisations.
Sophie's website is at www.sophiemassonauthor.com
She has a writing blog at www.firebirdfeathers.com
Her You Tube channel, with trailers to many of her books, is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLa...
She is also a regular contributor to the popular authorship blog Writer Unboxed, www.writerunboxed.com
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 22, 2017
Linda is not your normal sixteen-year-old. She is feisty and adventurous in a genteel age when girls are expected to be polite, chaperoned and groomed to marry.
It is May 1910 and her father is in Paris on a research trip. Linda is worried about him. Even more so when she receives a Jack of Spades playing card in the mail. The envelope was not in her father's hand, or was there anything with it to give her a clue, but, she knows it’s a sign from him, a code they both know. The Jack of Spades is a sign of danger.
Without alerting anyone Linda decides to leave for Paris immediately. She has been there with her father and has friends she hopes to stay with while she searches for her father. She knows his favourite places and where he usually works. Feeling confident in her own competence she leaves Britain.
On arriving in Paris, she is accosted but the thief is thwarted when she is assisted by a gallant young man, who offers to help her.
The illustrations throughout the book are delightful. The Victorian railway station illustration with Linda gathering up her belongings and meeting her new friend is a clue to where the story leads.
What she finds in Paris is intrigue and mystery filled with danger. What was her father really doing? Where is he now? Who can she trust? Her friends are not at home and she has nowhere to stay. A single unchaperoned girl alone in a city. Her new friend offers to refer her to acceptable accommodation and there she meets interesting characters and a scoundrel.
While searching for her father Linda finds a trail of murders and shady characters. Her investigations put herself and her new friends in peril.
This book is a delight with mystery, a budding romance, and a tenacious and inquisitive teenage girl as the lead character. I loved it.
It is May 1910 and her father is in Paris on a research trip. Linda is worried about him. Even more so when she receives a Jack of Spades playing card in the mail. The envelope was not in her father's hand, or was there anything with it to give her a clue, but, she knows it’s a sign from him, a code they both know. The Jack of Spades is a sign of danger.
Without alerting anyone Linda decides to leave for Paris immediately. She has been there with her father and has friends she hopes to stay with while she searches for her father. She knows his favourite places and where he usually works. Feeling confident in her own competence she leaves Britain.
On arriving in Paris, she is accosted but the thief is thwarted when she is assisted by a gallant young man, who offers to help her.
The illustrations throughout the book are delightful. The Victorian railway station illustration with Linda gathering up her belongings and meeting her new friend is a clue to where the story leads.
What she finds in Paris is intrigue and mystery filled with danger. What was her father really doing? Where is he now? Who can she trust? Her friends are not at home and she has nowhere to stay. A single unchaperoned girl alone in a city. Her new friend offers to refer her to acceptable accommodation and there she meets interesting characters and a scoundrel.
While searching for her father Linda finds a trail of murders and shady characters. Her investigations put herself and her new friends in peril.
This book is a delight with mystery, a budding romance, and a tenacious and inquisitive teenage girl as the lead character. I loved it.
April 13, 2017
That was a breath of fresh air. I devoured this in 2 days, whilst being unwell but all the same, it was such a great story. Not too overpowering in the historical setting, engaging characters and an intriguing mystery with lots of interesting details. I loved the food descriptions, and Linda was a fine character. I recommend for 12+
August 29, 2018
It is not often that a book opens its narrative with the call to action on its first page. It is also unusual that when the stakes are raised so quickly they are undercut so soundly in the following paragraphs. But so begins Jack of Spades.
Jack of Spades is a young adult conspiracy thriller set in 1910’s Paris.
It follows Linda after she receives a Jack of Spades in the mail signaling her father is in trouble. But what following this inciting incident is not a rush to answer the call but a very detailed explanation of what the card means and the main character’s history. It was like someone blew up the balloon but instead of having it pop they just let it go to dither about the room. But thankfully this is not how Jack of Spades will continue its narrative.
Written in twee language that smacks of Watson’s voice from the Sherlock novels with all the moxey of Jane Austen’s Emma, it's hard to begin the novel. But once Linda is in Paris and the plot kicks off, it starts to even out and the exposition is fed to the reader at a more reasonable rate and tends to leave action alone.
It is a beautiful look at 1910 Paris and is obviously coming from someone who loves the city and has done their research. Both sides of Paris are shown, the wonders of all the Paris art and high life as well as the seedy criminal underbelly, well as seedy as a children’s book can get anyway. Both are given as much care as the other and the characters who inhabit them serve not just as scenery but to make the world feel lived in. The central plot and world conspiracy has the wonderful feature of “I can’t tell you to much about this otherwise I will spoil it,” which means that recommending this book is easy. It creates its own mystery instantly.
It was well worth the whiplash the beginning of the book gave me and I am already making a list of all the people I will recommend this book to. Jack of Spades by Sophie Masson is exciting and I hope to visit the world again.
This review by Jessica Forth has featured in the Swinburne Journal 'Backstory', Issue 3.
Jack of Spades is a young adult conspiracy thriller set in 1910’s Paris.
It follows Linda after she receives a Jack of Spades in the mail signaling her father is in trouble. But what following this inciting incident is not a rush to answer the call but a very detailed explanation of what the card means and the main character’s history. It was like someone blew up the balloon but instead of having it pop they just let it go to dither about the room. But thankfully this is not how Jack of Spades will continue its narrative.
Written in twee language that smacks of Watson’s voice from the Sherlock novels with all the moxey of Jane Austen’s Emma, it's hard to begin the novel. But once Linda is in Paris and the plot kicks off, it starts to even out and the exposition is fed to the reader at a more reasonable rate and tends to leave action alone.
It is a beautiful look at 1910 Paris and is obviously coming from someone who loves the city and has done their research. Both sides of Paris are shown, the wonders of all the Paris art and high life as well as the seedy criminal underbelly, well as seedy as a children’s book can get anyway. Both are given as much care as the other and the characters who inhabit them serve not just as scenery but to make the world feel lived in. The central plot and world conspiracy has the wonderful feature of “I can’t tell you to much about this otherwise I will spoil it,” which means that recommending this book is easy. It creates its own mystery instantly.
It was well worth the whiplash the beginning of the book gave me and I am already making a list of all the people I will recommend this book to. Jack of Spades by Sophie Masson is exciting and I hope to visit the world again.
This review by Jessica Forth has featured in the Swinburne Journal 'Backstory', Issue 3.
November 12, 2017
I've been drawn to this book for ages and read it after Wormwood Mire. I enjoyed Jack of Spades much more, though one is mystery, fantasy and 'Spades' is mystery, spy, realism, so they aren't truly comparable. This was not far off a 5 for me and the only issue was I found the complexity of the spy narrative lost me at times. I always find this with spy stuff but I also loved that Masson tackled this genre, with a teenage, female heroine. This was a very enjoyable read for me and for older teens with a sense of adventure, who are looking for a smart lead character and a touch of romance, I'd heartily recommend this. Excellent cover illustration from Yvonne Low - it hooked me in!
July 2, 2017
Read this one to see if it was suitable for my 11yo. For me, not quite - I'd maybe try 13 and up.
However, it's a great old-school yarn, about a 16-year-old girl who comes to Paris in 1910, seeking her missing father. This reminded me of a cross between Agatha Christie and John Buchan but well-written enough to hook in a broad-minded YA readership.
On the basis of this one, I'd read other Sophie Masson books.
However, it's a great old-school yarn, about a 16-year-old girl who comes to Paris in 1910, seeking her missing father. This reminded me of a cross between Agatha Christie and John Buchan but well-written enough to hook in a broad-minded YA readership.
On the basis of this one, I'd read other Sophie Masson books.
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May 18, 2017It's May 1910 and 16 year old Linda Duke has just received a strange message: a playing card, the Jack of Spades, in an envelope that was sent from Paris, where her widowed father, Professor Charles Duke, has gone on a research trip. In the family code, 'Jack of Spades' means treachery and danger. But it is not her father's handwriting on the envelope..Linda is convinced he is in great danger, and sets out immediately to Paris to look for him. And so begins an extraordinary adventure, that will take Linda deep into the heart of the city; not only its bright, light daylight world of music and gaiety and good times, but also the dark and dangerous world of criminal Paris. Who are the people following Linda? What was her father really doing in Paris? Who can she really trust? Linda begins to understand that she has stumbled into a daring, deadly plot, and that time is fast running out--for her father, herself, her friends--and the future of France and the rest of the world. And that it is up to her now to stop the conspiracy, in a world where treachery and betrayal seem to reign supreme
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews