Amazon.com Review
Montmorency on the Rocks, the second volume of Eleanor Updale’s
popular Victorian spy drama, finds our title hero in a much darker place than the London sewers where his alter ego Scarper used to dwell. It has been five years since Montmorency teamed up with gentleman spy George Fox-Selwyn. They enjoyed much success infiltrating the Ottoman underworld, until Montmorency acquired a treacherous taste for opium. Now addicted, he has come dangerously close to revealing his criminal past to Fox-Selwyn while under the influence. Meanwhile, the British government has called the duo home to discover the identity of a bomber who is targeting London’s landmarks. Frustrated Fox-Selwyn decides to bring Montmorency to the one person who knows the former thief better than anyone: Dr. Robert Farcett. But Farcett, who saved Montmorency before, has recently lost his nerve in the operating arena. However, in teaming up with the undercover agents, Dr. Farcett comes across a community that is losing youngsters at an appalling rate, and discovers something that just might give him reason to practice again. All of these threads come together in a brilliant climax that will leave exhilarated readers with a surprising question on the very last page.
Montmorency on the Rocks can stand on its own, but no teen reader should be denied the thrilling experience of getting to know the Victorian thief-turned-gentleman from the beginning. Adolescent Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes fans are sure to enjoy this intriguing "extreme makeover" of the traditional British mystery. (Ages 10-15) --Jennifer Hubert
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up–The second volume picks up several years after
Montmorency (Scholastic, 2004) ended. The young man has joined Lord Fox-Selwyn on missions for the English throne and has proved himself a formidable secret agent. But on their last journey, he became addicted to opium, and his addiction threatens his life and those of many others as he loses discretion and caution. Meanwhile, Dr. Farcett, who treated Montmorency when he was in prison, has lost his self-confidence after killing a healthy patient in a demonstration surgery. Fox-Selwyn engineers a reunion between the two to save them both, and the three men, along with Violet, daughter of Montmorency/Scarper's former landlady and a prostitute, end up involved in two mysteries: bombings of London train stations and the deaths of numerous children on a remote Scottish island. This adventure starts slowly, and the elaborate setup seems somewhat contrived. Still, this is another rousing and meticulously researched adventure, full of details about London and Scotland that bring the past to vivid life. Older fans of the first volume will find much to enjoy here as they race to the end; unfortunately, the pacing is likely to turn off new readers despite adequate back story.
–Karyn N. Silverman, Elizabeth Irwin High School, New York City Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
