The Case of the Stolen Sixpence: The Mysteries of Maisie Hitchins Book 1

By Holly Webb and Marion Lindsay

In the tradition of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries comes The Mysteries of Maisie Hitchins!

Twelve-year-old Maisie is a noticing sort of person. Thats why she is convinced she would make an excellent detective if she ever got the chance! But instead of detecting, she spends her days polishing the banisters at her grandmother's boarding house or fetching fish for the lodgers' dinner. In The Case of the Stolen Sixpence, Maisie's big chance to prove herself finally arrives when crime strikes her Victorian London neighborhood. While the grown-ups turn a blind eye to the whodunit and justice goes un-served, Maisie and her canine sidekick, Eddie, search the streets for clues to crack the case.

This first book in a series features black and white illustrations and a rollicking mystery complete with tricks, disguises, danger, and a little dog too!

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Sep 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9780544509122

Holly Webb

HOLLY WEBB is a former children's book editor who has authored over ninety books for children published in the UK. Besides Maisie Hitchins, other series that have crossed the pond include My Naughty Little Puppy, the Rose books, the Lily books, and Animal Magic. Webb lives in Berkshire, England, with her husband, three boys, and Milly, her cat. Visit her website at www.holly-webb.com.

Book preview

Text copyright © 2014 by Holly Webb

Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Marion Lindsay

Originally published by Stripes Publishing, an imprint of Little Tiger Press, Great Britain, in 2013. All rights reserved.

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to [e-mail] or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

www.hmhco.com

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Webb, Holly.

The case of the stolen sixpence / written by Holly Webb; illustrated by Marion Lindsay.

p. cm. — (The mysteries of Maisie Hitchins)

Originally published by Stripes Publishing, an imprint of Little Tiger Press, Great Britain, in 2013.

Summary: Junior sleuth Maisie Hitchins, who lives in her grandmother’s boarding house in Victorian London, uncovers an intriguing plot involving stolen sausages, pilfered halfpennies, and a fast-paced bicycle chase.

[1. Mystery and detective stories. 2. Boardinghouses—Fiction. 3. London (England)—History—19th century—Fiction. 4. Great Britain—History—Victorian, 1837–1901—Fiction.] I. Lindsay, Marion, illustrator. II. Title.

PZ7.W3687Cap 2014

[Fic]—dc23

2014007446

ISBN 978-0-544-33928-6 hardback

ISBN 978-0-544-58234-7 paperback

eISBN 978-0-544-50912-2

v5.0816

For Jon, Cam, Robin, and Will

—H.W

For Janine and Kath, with much love

—M.L.

[Image][Image][Image]

Maisie Hitchins watched, open-mouthed, as the famous detective Gilbert Carrington came rushing down the front steps of his lodging house, hauling on his coat as he ran. His faithful assistant, Major Edward Lamb, galloped after him, clutching both their hats, and they sprang into a cab and rattled away.

Maisie stared after the hansom cab and sighed heavily. Where could they be going? It was bound to be somewhere exciting. Chasing jewel thieves, perhaps? Only yesterday, Gran’s paper had said that they were on the trail of the Larradine Rubies at last. The newspaper article confidently expected the hunt to take them to India, possibly by way of Paris, or even Madrid. It had sounded wonderful. Just imagine, Maisie thought, following footprints, spotting clues, trailing culprits . . .

The dust cast up by the cab horse’s hooves settled slowly back onto the road, and Maisie set off again. Gran would be waiting for the fish she needed to cook for the lodgers’ supper. Maisie’s grandmother ran a boarding house, and she spent all her time running around after the fussy lodgers. Maisie scuffed her boots along the pavement sadly. The fish smelled, and it was oozing out of its soggy paper parcel. She was almost certain that Gilbert Carrington never ate fish. He probably instructed his landlady never even to serve it. Certainly not in a parsley sauce, which Maisie really hated. Just because Madame Lorimer, who lived on the second floor of the boarding house, happened to have a fancy for fish, now Maisie would have to have it for her supper as well.

Still. If she hadn’t had to run out and fetch the fish, she’d never have seen Gilbert Carrington, Maisie admitted to herself, cheering up a little. Perhaps he’d been on his way to Scotland Yard? Perhaps he’d solved the mystery of the rubies already?

Maisie dawdled along, swinging the basket and daydreaming. If she walked along Laurence Road where Gilbert Carrington lived whenever she was sent out on errands, surely sooner or later she’d meet someone on their way to consult the great detective? It was lucky that he lived so close to her grandmother’s lodging house, on Albion Street. If only she could manage to run into one of his clients first, and deduce something amazing. Then she might be able to help him solve a mystery.

Maisie smiled to herself as she imagined the great man pacing up and down his rooms. He probably had all sorts of peculiar things on the walls, things that he’d picked up on his adventures. Strange African spears, sets of handcuffs, amazing jewels that people had given him after he’d rescued them . . . treasure maps . . . Carrington would be smoking his pipe—he was quite often drawn with it in the newspaper cartoons, so Maisie knew he had one. She had borrowed a pipe once, from the young man who had the third-floor back bedroom, but trying to smoke it had made her sick. And the young man hadn’t paid his rent, so she hadn’t had a chance to try again. She wasn’t sure it was strictly necessary to smoke a pipe to be a great detective, anyway, though it would have helped her look the part.

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Edward, he would groan. I just don’t see it. Something’s missing. Some vital clue . . . And Maisie would step in, just then, and tell him what it was.

Because Carrington could always be having an off day, Maisie reasoned. It would only take him having a cold, after all. With a blocked-up nose, the great detective wouldn’t be able to smell a thing, and smells could be vital.

If she had a cold right now, she wouldn’t be able to smell this disgusting fish.

Maisie drew aside politely for an elderly lady in a smart black silk dress and an enormous bonnet to walk past. She tried to look at her as Gilbert Carrington would—every bit of her.

The old lady looked exactly as she ought to, unfortunately. No odd color in her cheeks. No strange jewelry. But Maisie could pretend, just for practice.

Another whiff of fish from the basket reminded her of smells. She ought to check for that. Perhaps the old lady smelled of . . . Maisie frowned to herself, as she tried to think what it could be. It would have to be something unusual, and noticeable . . .

She sniffed thoughtfully. There was actually an odd smell. She just couldn’t quite work out what it was.

Aniseed! Maisie glanced over her shoulder in surprise. Of course, the old lady had probably just been eating aniseed balls, but she didn’t look like an aniseed ball eater. They

Reviews for The Case of the Stolen Sixpence

[sszkutak_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love Holly Webb, I find her Rose series adorable and when I saw she was the author of this series I couldn't help but squeal a bit and say 'Want!' The Case of the Stolen Sixpence is the first book in the Maisie Hutchins series for Middle Grade readers; it is geared toward ages 9-12 but reads closer to the 9-10 range I think. The story is cute and even a little sad at some points but very fun to follow. In book 1 we meet Maisie and her companion a dog named Eddie as they embark on their very first mystery, stolen money. Maisie is imaginative, creative, and a lot of fun to follow through this tale and Eddie is delightful and funny. The mystery itself took a good amount of build up, so a lot of the solving part and clues were at the very end. The stolen sixpence was a great way for Maisie to start her detecting and help a friend save his job.I found this book to be a lot of fun and would definitely recommend to young readers who like mysteries.

[greyhoundgal-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an enjoyable mystery set in Victorian London. The larger type and line drawings make the book welcoming and less intimidating than others with the same setting. The story is fairly simple yet engaging for older elementary readers, and the rich vocabulary is skillfully woven in so that readers can easily decipher the meaning of such words as scruffy, yelped, sneered, and reckoned. This would be a fine choice as a classroom read-aloud, and students would very likely seek out the next book in the series for independent reading.

[gaby317 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Twelve-year old Maisie Hitchins lives at 31 Albion Street, London, in a boarding house run by her grandmother. Though Holly Webb doesn't specify that they live during the Victorian era, people rely on horses and carriages to get around and snack on aniseed balls, lavender lace, and sugared violets. Maisie's smart, curious, and dreams of being a detective, like her hero Detective Gilbert Carrington (who is much like Shelock Holmes).When Maisie comes across a nearly drowned puppy in a sack, she undertakes to find the perpetrator of the deed. Her beloved puppy makes off with George, the butcher's delivery boy's sausages, and Maisie feels responsible when George loses his job. Though George was fired when he was found with a "marked" sixpence and not because of the sausages, Maisie resolves not to rest until the true culprit is found.Maisie is helped by two lodgers with unusual expertise. Disguises, acting, careful detective work and her new puppy help Maisie solve the puzzles. This first detective adventure with Maisie Hitchins is funny and sure to appeal to young mystery lovers.

[cherylk_44 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a cute, fun, quick book. I loved Maisie. She is full of spunk and has a good adventurous spirit. Also, I cannot forget about Eddie. He was the best companion/sidekick that a detective could have. He did help solve his own mystery involving who attempted to drown him. Then there was the bigger mystery about who stole the money at the butcher's shop. I liked all the different ways that Maisie got into character to solve the mystery. The illustrations were great as well. They just added to the story and helped to bring it to life better. Young readers will have an enjoyable time reading this book. Maisie is kind of like the new Nancy Drew for the new generation of readers. I look forward to the next mystery.