The Case of the Girl in Grey (The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, Book 2)

The Case of the Girl in Grey (The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, Book 2)

Now in paperback, a second comic case to test the brains and bravery of the intrepid Wollstonecraft detectives--Ada Bryon Lovelace and Mary Shelley.   The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency was supposed to be a secret constabulary, but after the success of their first case, all of London knows that Lady Ada and Mary are the girls to go to if you have a problem.   Their latest case is a puzzler indeed: A dead father, a missing will, an escaped lunatic, and a hasty engagement. How does it all connect? With the help (and sometimes hindrance) of their sisters Jane and Allegra, these girls break codes, break a girl out of the hospital, and break up a very bad betrothal.   Praise for The Case of the Girl in Grey :   "Mystery fans ... will relish the girls' romp around the stately home; discovery of an encrypted clue (in the crypt, of course); and unraveling of the mystery."-- Booklist   Praise for The Case of the Missing Moonstone : "An enjoyable plot, resourceful heroines and fun writing." -- Wall Street Journal   "Smart and witty. . . . The detectives in training use quick thinking, book smarts, and social know-how to find a stolen gemstone. Comical narration and dialogue will charm readers thoroughly." -- Publishers Weekly   “Equal parts laughs and adventure, this lively mystery will keep you guessing till the end!” – Discovery Girls JORDAN STRATFORD is a producer, author, and screenwriter. Stratford first launched the Wollstonecraft series on Kickstarter and in under a month he'd gained nearly 3,000 backers--clearly there is a hungry audience! You can find him on the Web at JordanStratford.com and on Twitter @JordanStratford.   KELLY MURPHY is an accomplished picture-book and chapter-book author and artist. She is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, where she now serves on the faculty. Kelly lives with her husband in New England. You can read more about her work at kelmurphy.com. Disarming     1     “Did!” Ada growled through gritted teeth. She whirred the black iron coal shovel down through the air at her sister.   Nimble as a circus performer, nine-year-old Allegra pivoted on the stair just in time to dodge the slice of the shovel. She pressed her own attack up the stairs, lunging with her hooked fire poker.   “Did not!” shouted Allegra.   “Did!” cried Ada, knocking the poker aside with her shovel.   The two girls tradedblows, one scratching the paneling of the stairway, the other taking a deepchunk out of the white banister.   Allegra hopped back down one stair, then up again, thrusting past Ada’s head, pulling back to use the poker’s nasty hook. Ada raised her shovel over her shoulder to catch the hook with another clang and a puff of soot.   Poker and shovel locked together, the older sister flicked her wrist, whipping the poker from Allegra’s grip, spinning it right around until it shot like an arrow back down the stairs to embed into the doorframe with a reverberating thud.   Ada leveled the shovel into Allegra’s face in triumph. Quick as lightning, Allegra dropped to her knees, grabbed her sister’s ankles, and gave a sharp yank. Ada’s bottom spanked hard against the wooden stair. She started to yowl like a wet cat, the shovel skittering down the stairs and along the tiled hall.   The toe of a gleaming black shoe stopped the shovel’s slide. Above the black shoe was a black-cuffed trouser of a long black suit, and very far atop the suit was the drawn and displeased face of Ada’s very large, tall butler, Mr. Franklin. He said nothing, but his silence and his look of disapproval were enough to stop Ada’s wailing immediately. He folded himself to pick up the shovel without bending his legs, which struck Allegra as very flexible and Ada as a long way down, and rose again to pluck the still-trembling poker from the woodwork.   Embarrassed, both girls rose and coughed, smoothing their gowns and brushing the soot from their hands, making more of a mess in the process. Neither sister could entirely remember the reason for the staircase duel in the first place, “dids” and “did nots” gone in an instant.   The butler stared at the pair for a moment with a raised eyebrow, then slowly turned, returning the implements to the fireplace. The girls remained humbled for as long as theycould manage, which was about two entire seconds.   “That was brilliant!” cried Allegra. “You have to show me how to do that!”   “The disarm? It’s in the book. Agrippa, I think. Capo Ferro? Fencing books. They’re in the library.”   “You couldn’t just show me?”   “You couldn’t just read a book?” Ada replied.   “Honestly, Ada, you’re mean.”   “You’re impossible,” declared Ada, marching up the stairs to the library. Allegra followed, although she pretended not to.   Ada found a book on sixteenth-century fencing and pressed it into her sister’s hands. “Didn’t you take a room?” she asked, still pushing on the book, prodding Allegra subtly toward the door.   “I took three, really,” admitted Allegra, not taking