Violet and the Pearl of the Orient

By Harriet Whitehorn and Becka Moor

Meet Violet Remy-Robinson, an amateur Sherlock Holmes in the making...
When a new family move in next door, Violet is sure there's something strange about them. Then her eccentric, but lovely neighbour, Dee Dee Derota, has a precious jewel stolen. Could the new family be to blame? Violet is on the case to uncover the truth…
With a beautiful hardback package complete with two colour illustrations throughout by emerging talent, Becka Moore, everyone is bound to fall in love with Violet and the colourful characters that make up her world. Perfect for fans of Dixie O'Day, Ottoline, Goth Girl and Darcy Burdock.

Praise for the Violet series:
'Whitehorn's debut is pacey and imaginative and Becka Moor's illustrations a delight. Perfect for readers who liked the Ottoline books by Chris Riddell.' The Times
'Effortlessly gorgeous' Moontrug
'An adventure brimful of charm, told with brio and a good deal of panache…Young readers, particularly fans of Lauren Child, will be very taken with Violet and her world' Books for Keeps
'A great heroine, an intriguing mystery, and brilliant use of language… Hugely recommended' YAyeahyeah
'Sherlock better watch out, 'cos Violet's about!' Wondrous Reads

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Aug 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781471118968

Harriet Whitehorn

Harriet Whitehorn grew up in London, where she still lives with her husband and three daughters. She has studied at Reading University, the Architectural Association and The Victoria and Albert Museum and has always worked in building conservation. She currently works for English Heritage. Violet and the Pearl of the Orient was her first children’s book and the first in a series, followed by Violet and the Hidden Treasure, and Violet and the Smugglers.

Book preview

FOR CLARA – HW

FOR MUM – BM

FIRST PUBLISHED IN GREAT BRITAIN IN 2014

BY SIMON AND SCHUSTER UK LTD,

A CBS COMPANY.

TEXT COPYRIGHT © 2014 HARRIET WHITEHORN

COVER AND INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS COPYRIGHT © 2014 BECKA MOOR

THIS BOOK IS COPYRIGHT UNDER THE BERNE CONVENTION.

NO REPRODUCTION WITHOUT PERMISSION.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

THE RIGHT OF HARRIET WHITEHORN AND BECKA MOOR TO BE IDENTIFIED AS THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR OF THIS WORK RESPECTIVELY HAS BEEN ASSERTED BY THEM IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS 77 AND 78 OF THE COPYRIGHT, DESIGN AND PATENTS ACT, 1988.

SIMON & SCHUSTER UK LTD

1ST FLOOR, 222 GRAY’S INN ROAD, LONDON WC1X 8HB

THIS BOOK IS A WORK OF FICTION. NAMES, CHARACTERS, PLACES AND INCIDENTS ARE EITHER THE PRODUCT OF THE AUTHOR’S IMAGINATION OR ARE USED FICTITIOUSLY. ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ACTUAL PEOPLE LIVING OR DEAD, EVENTS OR LOCALES IS ENTIRELY COINCIDENTAL.

A CIP CATALOGUE RECORD FOR THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE FROM THE BRITISH LIBRARY.

HB ISBN 978-1-4711-2261-3

EBOOK ISBN 978-1-4711-1896-8

PRINTED IN CHINA

WWW.SIMONANDSCHUSTER.CO.UK

Contents

1

WHERE IT ALL BEGINS

2

COCKTAILS AND CONVERSATION

3

A BUNCH OF YELLOW ROSES

4

THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT

5

WHAT VIOLET SAW

6

THE CRIME SOLVING MATRIX

7

ESCAPE FROM ST CATHERINE’S

8

GODMOTHER CELESTE AND OTHER SUMMER TREATS

9

FRENCH FANCIES AND FAKES

10

VILENESS, WHATYA DOING??

11

THE PARTY: PART 1 – DRESS SPOOKY

13

THE PARTY: PART 2 – UNLUCKY FOR SOME

14

THE PARTY: PART 3 – TRICK OR TREAT?

This is a story about Violet Remy-Robinson.

Violet lives with a cat named Pudding (short for Sticky Toffee Pudding), her mother, Camille Remy, who is a jewellery designer, and her father, Benedict Robinson, who is an architect.

They live in a very stylish and incredibly tidy flat and there is a large garden at the back of Violet’s flat that she shares with all the other children and grown-ups who live around it.

Violet’s best friend is Rose, whose family live in the same street and who goes to the same school as Violet.

Violet does a great many activities after school. In fact, she’s so busy that she has a special calendar in her room to make sure she knows where she has to be every day.

Climbing is Violet’s favourite thing to do which is why she goes twice a week. Violet is an only child, and so spends a lot of time with grown-ups. This is sometimes a bit boring, but it also means that she’s learnt some very useful things, such as how to read a menu in French, mix a perfect cocktail and play poker. While her parents are at work, Violet is looked after by Norma the housekeeper, who does not say much, but when she does say something it is well worth listening to.

Norma also makes the most delicious food. A wise person once told Violet that you can tell a lot about a person by their favourite food, so to introduce you properly to all the people in this story, I thought I would tell you about their very favourite things to eat.

But come, enough talk about food (which is making me very hungry indeed), let us get on with the story . . .

It all Begins with a Fox at a Window.

First, you must picture a tall oak tree in a beautiful garden.

It is late spring when the story begins so the tree should be covered in fluttery green leaves. And now you must imagine a girl of around ten, small for her age and slim, with dark brown hair, straight as a ruler, olive skin and precise brown eyes. And then turn that girl upside down, set her swinging to and fro from a high branch of the tree, holding on only by her knees, shamelessly showing off to a crowd of children gathered at the bottom. And there you have Violet Remy-Robinson at the start of the story.

The names of the children watching were Lydia, Charlotte, Ben, Stanley and Stella, and they were known as the ‘midders’. The children who lived in the houses around the garden were all different ages; the midders were seven to eleven years old, and anyone younger than them was a ‘littilee’ and anyone older was a ‘twelver’. But at that moment it was only the midders who were watching Violet, because the littlies had been gathered up for tea and baths and the twelvers were loafing around by the swings, showing off to each other and chatting about whatever