A Christmas Promise

August 3, 2009
While bestseller Perry doesn't offer much of a puzzle in her seventh Christmas-themed Victorian historical (after 2008's A Christmas Grace
), she does a highly credible job of evoking Dickens, especially in the opening scenes set in Whitechapel. As the 1883 holiday season nears in London's East End, 13-year-old Gracie Phipps, a supporting character in Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series (Buckingham Palace Gardens
, etc.), encounters a woebegone younger child, Minnie Maude Mudway, on the mean streets of her neighborhood. Minnie is looking for a missing donkey, Charlie, which belonged to her beloved uncle Alf. The animal disappeared the day before, around the same time Alf, a bone-and-rag dealer, was killed. The two girls turn detective in an effort to find Charlie as well as the truth about how Alf died. Mr. Balthasar, a shopkeeper who assists in the sleuthing, lends an appealing Holmesian touch.

October 1, 2009
Mystery author Perry returns with the seventh annual Victorian Christmas offering (after "A Christmas Grace"). Minnie and Gracie are working on the mystery of a missing donkey. Oh, and Minnie's uncle has just been murdered, so they set off to solve that crime as well. Short and sweet, for mystery collections where the previous Perry Christmas offerings have done well. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 7/09; library marketing.]

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2009
On a raw December evening, just before Christmas, 13-year-old Gracie Phipps meets 8-year-old Minnie Maude, whose uncle has just died under unusual circumstances and who is looking for her lost donkey, Charlie. Prompted by guilt after leaving the child to her lonely search, Gracie finds Minnie Maude the next day and offers to help her find Charlie and investigate Uncle Alfs death. Soon they run into trouble and approach the mysterious Mr. Balthasar for help, who comes to the rescue just as the children find themselves in great danger. This latest addition to Perrys Christmas mysteries series again weaves the lives and times of the poor in Victorian London into a heartwarming story. Readers will recognize Gracie as the girl who will become Charlotte Pitts maid in Perrys Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)