Alex and Ruby Pilgrim love spending their summers at Aunt Joanna’s bed and breakfast, but it looks like this might be the last, as the business isn’t making enough to pay for the upkeep of Applecott House. As Alex and Ruby head to bed, Alex stops again to look at the old fashioned mirror and the two of them find themselves falling through time. Crime is afoot, there’s a mystery to solve and then they have to find their way home…

What a fabulously fun mystery! Set in 1912, Sally Nicholls brings the era to life through her characterisation and setting. Ruby’s disgust at the fashion for girls is portrayed perfectly through the eyes of a modern day youngster who is used to jeans and technology. Alex’s thirst for adventure is never seems to dry up as the two children find themselves embroiled in a mad-capped chase to catch thieves regardless of any dangers they face. I loved the family get together for the wedding, and the eccentric characters Alex and Ruby met on their adventure. Most of all, I love that this is the first in a gripping new series.

Brett Helquist’s delightful illustrations match the charm and humour of the story perfectly, and capture the essence of the era the story takes place in.

Perfect for newly independent readers hunting for chapter books that will suck them in as surely as Alex’s mirror, and older readers searching for a fun mystery to while away an afternoon. Whatever the age, readers will pick up a raft of information about the time through Sally’s historically accurate details in her descriptions.

Great for fans of The Mystery Of The Skull, The Hounds Of Penhallow Hall, Black Cats & Butlers and The Clockwork Sparrow.

Huge thanks to Siân Heap and Nosy Crow for sending me a copy for review. You can take a sneak peak at the first chapter over on the Nosy Crow website.