Elizabeth Wein has been one of my must-read authors since reading the beautiful punch in the gut that is Code Name Verity a few years ago. I've since tracked down the rest of her bibliography and can honestly say there isn't a book she's written that I haven't loved.
This probably doesn't make sense to you if you're not a re-reader, but there are certain books that worm their way into your heart and you need to read them again in order to spend more time with your favourite characters. Books that make you grin foolishly or tear up on the bus. Books that make you thrust a copy into your friends' hands and say: 'Read this! It made me have feelings and I need you to read it so that we can have feelings together!'
Elizabeth Wein frequently provokes such outbursts from me. (Sorry, friends.) So I was very excited to read her latest novel The Pearl Thief. Technically it's a prequel to Code Name Verity but it works well as a standalone.
Julie arrives at her recently deceased grandfather's estate in Scotland in 1938, having come home early from boarding school. No one's around so she wanders down to the river in her brother's kilt and an old jersey, enjoying the summer afternoon. She falls asleep tickling the trout... and then wakes up in hospital with a giant bump on her head and no memory of what happened.
This is only one of the mysteries she has to solve, as missing scholars, dead bodies and stolen river pearls start to pile up, along with a lot of unfounded local suspicion toward the Scottish Traveller community. Which is awkward as Julie is getting to be quite good friends with two Traveller siblings, Euan and Ellen. Will they figure out the real culprit before the Travellers are framed for the crime?
So many of my favourite things contained in one book: mystery, archaeology, librarians, and Julie running around the moors dressed as Davie Balfour from Kidnapped!, kissing the local girls. Sound like you? Reserve a copy of The Pearl Thief now and beat the rush! And if you also have feelings about Elizabeth Wein's books and need to share, I'd love to hear from you in the comments.
The Pearl Thief
by Elizabeth Wein
Published by Disney-Hyperion
ISBN: 9781484717165
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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