Hyacinth Hayward is not looking forward to a summer alone in London with her ditzy mother. It’s a far cry from the City she was told about at home in America. The taps don’t even mix the water properly. In an attempt to save her hands from further punishment she fixes the bathroom tap, unwittingly releasing a drop of glowing water into the sewers below.

A single drop that could cause the second Great Fire. A single drop that brings the Saltpetre men to Hyacinth’s door and sees her mum spirited away until she can return the drop and stop the magical powers it carries from falling into the wrong hands.

A gripping, magical mystery tour through London’s sewers, with an eccentric cast of characters, from the Toshers to a pig in a swimming costume, and a telepathic unicorn, that flows effortlessly from the first page until the last. Hyacinth’s dry humour lightens the tension as she gets to grips with an altered history of London and figures out who she can trust, all whilst trying to save her mum. Pure escapism, and even better, it’s the first in a trilogy!

Great for fans of The Crooked Sixpence and Defender Of The Realm series.

Huge thanks to ReadingZone and Walker Books for sending me a copy to review. Can’t wait to get it not my School Bookshelf.