Steeplejack

Starred review from March 21, 2016
Racial tensions and class strife provide the underlying conflict in this tense mystery, first in the Alternate Detective series, set in an industrialized fantasy city reminiscent of Victorian-era South Africa. Sixteen-year-old Ang Sutonga works as a “steeplejack,” cleaning and maintaining Bar-Selehm’s many towers and spires. When her new apprentice is murdered, no one seems to care. Then a secret government organization hires Ang to find the killer, believing the death is linked to more important matters, such as the theft of the city’s fabled Beacon—an impossibly valuable piece of luxorite, the glowing mineral that forms the backbone of the city’s economy. As Ang delves into the mystery, she
discovers treachery, danger, and evidence of a far-reaching
conspiracy that could throw the region into chaos. Hartley’s (the Darwen Arkwright series) story is a thought-provoking blend of action and intrigue, with a competent and ethical heroine in Ang and a fully imagined setting whose atmosphere and cultural cues also play important roles. The result is an unforgettable page-turner built on surprises and full of potential. Ages 13–up. Agent: Stacey Glick, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

April 1, 2016
This latest novel from Hartley (Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, 2014, etc.), his debut for teens, is social commentary masquerading as crime fiction masquerading as fantasy. The book opens with a murder and a mystery: the invaluable luxorite stone that lights the Beacon at the heart of Bar-Selehm is stolen, and Berrit, a young Lani boy, is found dead at the bottom of a spire. Hartley's fictional world is dense and rich. Though heavy with exposition in the beginning, the plot deftly explores the economic and political entanglements of the native black Mahweni, the white settlers from Feldesland, and the brown Lani people the Feldish brought as servants. Determined to get justice for her would-be apprentice, Lani steeplejack and narrator Anglet Sutonga discovers that Berrit's death is but a small part in a larger conspiracy to gain wealth and power at any cost. The diverse cast of characters reflects the varying classes and races that intersect and clash in the post-colonial city. The close first-person perspective keeps readers' hearts pounding as Anglet draws ever closer to the truth. The tension stays taut throughout the book, heightened with each precipice Anglet climbs: if she falls, the city goes to war. Smart political intrigue wrapped in all the twists and turns of a good detective story makes for a rip-roaring series opener. (Fantasy. 13 & up)

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May 1, 2016

Gr 6 Up-Anglet left her humble and poor childhood for the not so glamorous life of a steeplejack. She spends her days climbing high above Bar-Salem's smog to fix the broken bricks of chimneys and towers. When the city's beacon-a stone that shines a bright, everlasting light-is stolen the same day her young apprentice dies, Ang is swept into the folds of the mystery. Torn between family and cultural obligations, she has to decide whom she can trust and depend on to stay alive. Hartley creates a vivid world with wildlife and landscapes reminiscent of those of South Africa in this alternative 19th-century fantasy. Ang is a character readers will care about, even if her persistent adventures (and ensuing injuries) are unbelievable. Extraneous and convenient secondary characters help to create the multicultural world in which Ang lives. The race relations and political atmosphere in Bar-Salem are great catalysts for discussion. Hartley uses a large vocabulary, but the lack of romance and gratuitous violence makes this story a good option for younger teens.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2016
Grades 8-12 *Starred Review* Seventeen-year-old Anglet Sutonga is the only female steeplejack in the Seventh Street Gang. She's also the best. When a routine steeple repair job results in the death of a new gang member, Anglet realizes he was murdered. At about the same time, the Bar Selehm city beacona large, luminescent luxorite stoneis stolen from its high perch above the market. Anglet is convinced the murder and theft are connected, and she is secretly hired by a rich politician to find evidence, if she can do so before civil war erupts in the city. Skillful writing, masterful pacing, and a capable and quite likable female detective are just a few of the things to love about this fantasy-adventure set in what seems to be a Victorian-era South Africa. The author has a flair for world building, not settling for vivid descriptions of sights and smells but also utilizing social customs to ground Anglet's story. In addition to the detective angle, Hartley thoughtfully explores such issues as racial relations, inter- and intra-, as Anglet deals with the censure of her own community, and class as she attempts to work outside the political system to solve the murder. This one won't stay on the shelf long.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)