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London Murder Mysteries #3
Murder on Stage
Harrison, Cora Piccadilly Press 2011 trade edition paperback new condition book In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
256 pages, Paperback
First published December 20, 2010
13 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Cora Harrison
91 books218 followersCora Harrison worked as a headteacher before she decided to write her first novel. She has since published twenty-six children's novels. My Lady Judge was her first book in a Celtic historical crime series for adults that introduces Mara, Brehon of the Burren. Cora lives on a farm near the Burren in the west of Ireland.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 28, 2019
Alfie Sykes is a youngster who looks after his brother Sammy and his cousins Jack and Tom; their friend Sarah is also one of the gang. They live in a small, damp cellar in Bow Street, close to Covent Garden and Alfie took over the responsibility of finding the weekly rent and feeding the four who lived there after his parents had died; Sarah was a scullery maid at a big house nearby but she spent a lot of time with the boys once her work was over.
The boys begged, stole occasionally, performed tricks and Sammy, who was blind had a voice like an angel, could always earn a few coppers from his singing, when he always took along with him his trusty companion Musty the dog.
One night Alfie is given some free tickets for a concert at the Covent Garden Theatre and he is told to take along a crowd of friends and to get them to make plenty of noise once the key word that he had been told had been spoken on stage. He, his friends and the crowd generally do make quite a hullabaloo but amidst it all Alfie notices something strange happening on stage that would affect the leading man Harry Booth.
He tries to intervene, fails and when Booth is discovered to be dead on stage, Alfie becomes the main suspect. Thus follows a series of exciting incidents all around Victorian London as Alfie tries to identify the perpetrator of the crime from the few clues that he has. He engages his four friends to assist and between them they get into a variety of tricky situations with all sorts of unsavoury characters, including a whole host of clowns at the theatre and street entertainers in and around Covent Garden.
But the police find Alfie before Alfie finds the culprit. Consequently he ends up in Newgate prison and it takes all the efforts of his friends to try to free him before he is convicted of the murder. Central to the call for freedom is Sammy with a salient clue that he passes on to the others for them to further investigate. Fortunately everything turns out fine and Alfie and his gang are free to follow up further crimes.
With Alfie and his gang there is an element of Fagin and his gang and, just as Dickens did, Cora Harrison captures superbly that feeling of a squalid, Victorian London. And just to crown it all at the very end and in a lovely twist to the tale Alfie is approached by a reporter, name later well known, who wants to record his story in the newspapers!
The boys begged, stole occasionally, performed tricks and Sammy, who was blind had a voice like an angel, could always earn a few coppers from his singing, when he always took along with him his trusty companion Musty the dog.
One night Alfie is given some free tickets for a concert at the Covent Garden Theatre and he is told to take along a crowd of friends and to get them to make plenty of noise once the key word that he had been told had been spoken on stage. He, his friends and the crowd generally do make quite a hullabaloo but amidst it all Alfie notices something strange happening on stage that would affect the leading man Harry Booth.
He tries to intervene, fails and when Booth is discovered to be dead on stage, Alfie becomes the main suspect. Thus follows a series of exciting incidents all around Victorian London as Alfie tries to identify the perpetrator of the crime from the few clues that he has. He engages his four friends to assist and between them they get into a variety of tricky situations with all sorts of unsavoury characters, including a whole host of clowns at the theatre and street entertainers in and around Covent Garden.
But the police find Alfie before Alfie finds the culprit. Consequently he ends up in Newgate prison and it takes all the efforts of his friends to try to free him before he is convicted of the murder. Central to the call for freedom is Sammy with a salient clue that he passes on to the others for them to further investigate. Fortunately everything turns out fine and Alfie and his gang are free to follow up further crimes.
With Alfie and his gang there is an element of Fagin and his gang and, just as Dickens did, Cora Harrison captures superbly that feeling of a squalid, Victorian London. And just to crown it all at the very end and in a lovely twist to the tale Alfie is approached by a reporter, name later well known, who wants to record his story in the newspapers!
May 28, 2019
‘Only Alfie saw the hand.’
Alfie thinks himself fortunate when, one night, he’s given free tickets to a show at Convent Garden Theatre. The man giving him the tickets told him to bring his friends, and to make as much noise as possible when a signal is given.
‘It was a great occasion for a riot. The Queen herself, the young Queen Victoria was present!’
So, Alfie, his brother Sammy, their cousins Jack and Tom and their friend Sarah are all there when Alfie sees a hand empty the contents of a glass phial into a glass. Alfie tries to warn the actor Harry Booth not to drink from the glass, but he’s too late. Alfie makes it on stage to find Harry Booth dead.
‘Ever since the death of his parents, Alfie had lived on the edge of danger, as well as starvation, and had learnt to bolt for home when trouble arose.’
Alfie was seen on the stage, and soon becomes the main suspect. What can he do? He can’t leave London; he needs to look after his brother and cousins and Mutsy their dog. Alfie decides that with an appropriate disguise he can stay, and he can try to identify the murderer. But while Alfie (with the assistance of Sammy, Jack, Tom, Sarah and Mutsy) tries to find out who did murder Harry Booth, the police find Alfie first. Alfie ends up in Newgate Prison.
‘Who had murdered Harry Booth?’
There’s plenty of action as Alfie’s friends try to find out who the murderer was. There are a few tricky situations to be navigated, and only a few clues to begin with. How will they solve the crime?
This is the third in a series of six YA novels set in Victorian London. Ms Harrison provides plenty of detail of the conditions in which the poor lived: the fog, poverty and squalor. Alfie, Sammy, Jack, Tom and Mutsy live in a small, damp cellar and finding the money for rent and food is always a struggle. I’m looking forward to the fourth instalment, especially now that Alfie has been approached by a reporter who want to tell his story in the newspaper.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Alfie thinks himself fortunate when, one night, he’s given free tickets to a show at Convent Garden Theatre. The man giving him the tickets told him to bring his friends, and to make as much noise as possible when a signal is given.
‘It was a great occasion for a riot. The Queen herself, the young Queen Victoria was present!’
So, Alfie, his brother Sammy, their cousins Jack and Tom and their friend Sarah are all there when Alfie sees a hand empty the contents of a glass phial into a glass. Alfie tries to warn the actor Harry Booth not to drink from the glass, but he’s too late. Alfie makes it on stage to find Harry Booth dead.
‘Ever since the death of his parents, Alfie had lived on the edge of danger, as well as starvation, and had learnt to bolt for home when trouble arose.’
Alfie was seen on the stage, and soon becomes the main suspect. What can he do? He can’t leave London; he needs to look after his brother and cousins and Mutsy their dog. Alfie decides that with an appropriate disguise he can stay, and he can try to identify the murderer. But while Alfie (with the assistance of Sammy, Jack, Tom, Sarah and Mutsy) tries to find out who did murder Harry Booth, the police find Alfie first. Alfie ends up in Newgate Prison.
‘Who had murdered Harry Booth?’
There’s plenty of action as Alfie’s friends try to find out who the murderer was. There are a few tricky situations to be navigated, and only a few clues to begin with. How will they solve the crime?
This is the third in a series of six YA novels set in Victorian London. Ms Harrison provides plenty of detail of the conditions in which the poor lived: the fog, poverty and squalor. Alfie, Sammy, Jack, Tom and Mutsy live in a small, damp cellar and finding the money for rent and food is always a struggle. I’m looking forward to the fourth instalment, especially now that Alfie has been approached by a reporter who want to tell his story in the newspaper.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
May 18, 2019
I was sent a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
This was a fun middle grade murder mystery (it is also book 3 in a series but I didn't find anything that spoiled earlier books and I don't think you need to read the first 2 books to understand the overall plot or characters). I went into it thinking it was for a older audience and people have described it as YA but it's definitely middle grade. The story is easy to follow, doesn't have lots of unnecessary description so is fast paced and has likable characters. My favourite character was Sammy followed by Sarah, I liked their quiet intelligence and quick thinking calm. Musty the dog was adorable!
I liked that a group of street wise orphans were the main protagonists, I've always enjoyed those types of characters and how they learn to survive in harsh environments and do so while looking after each other.
For such a short fast paced book there was a good amount of character development, especially with Tom. He might be a bit bratty and makes plenty of mistakes but his heart is in the right place and in the end he comes through for his family.
Overall I enjoyed this but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had been the target audience.
This was a fun middle grade murder mystery (it is also book 3 in a series but I didn't find anything that spoiled earlier books and I don't think you need to read the first 2 books to understand the overall plot or characters). I went into it thinking it was for a older audience and people have described it as YA but it's definitely middle grade. The story is easy to follow, doesn't have lots of unnecessary description so is fast paced and has likable characters. My favourite character was Sammy followed by Sarah, I liked their quiet intelligence and quick thinking calm. Musty the dog was adorable!
I liked that a group of street wise orphans were the main protagonists, I've always enjoyed those types of characters and how they learn to survive in harsh environments and do so while looking after each other.
For such a short fast paced book there was a good amount of character development, especially with Tom. He might be a bit bratty and makes plenty of mistakes but his heart is in the right place and in the end he comes through for his family.
Overall I enjoyed this but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had been the target audience.
April 19, 2020
This book is a young adult mystery set around 1858 in London. Several poor orphans are drawn into solving a murder. Alfie, his blind brother, and his two cousins are hired to be a part of a riot at a theater, and Alfie sees a man killed on stage during the rioting. Because he tried to help the man, he's now the prime suspect of the police. His family and friends must do most of the investigating. There's one main clue, but how to find the 3-fingered man and prove to the police that he's the real murderer?
Historical details about what London was like at the time were woven into the story without slowing the fast pacing. Suspense was created by the danger to the children (since young children were hanged for offences like murder). The characters were interesting and engaging. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable historical mystery.
Historical details about what London was like at the time were woven into the story without slowing the fast pacing. Suspense was created by the danger to the children (since young children were hanged for offences like murder). The characters were interesting and engaging. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable historical mystery.
June 22, 2023
Enjoyable read
I have enjoyed this as I have the last two. Easy reading and no unnecessary padding to the story. The whole gang got more involved this time and introduced a few new characters that it would be good to see again in future. So onto the next...
I have enjoyed this as I have the last two. Easy reading and no unnecessary padding to the story. The whole gang got more involved this time and introduced a few new characters that it would be good to see again in future. So onto the next...
March 5, 2022
This horror book is totally crazy
October 4, 2024
This series has been really good so far. Would recommend this to anyone who loves a good mystery!
March 2, 2017
This book, like the others in the series, is an enjoyable jaunt through historic London, with mystery and intrigue as the reader's guide. Light reading; quality young adult fiction.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews