Plot summary: Master John Huffam thinks that the biggest problem in his life is his strict school teacher, Sergeant Muldspoon, until he finds out that his father may be going to debtor’s prison. This news takes the whole family by shock, especially when all their possessions are taken away and they are sent to a sponge house. John finds out that a writ in the amount of three hundred pounds, four shillings, and two pence has been claimed against his father by a Mr. Finnegan O’Doul. His father, Wesley, claims he knows no such man and owes no such amount.
But is his father being honest? John does some investigation of his own and comes to find out that his father isn’t being truthful. He confronts his father, who comes clean but gives John the responsibility of helping the family by finding the real traitor. John is only 14, though, and this task seems completely out of his reach. Everyone around him seems to be acting suspicious; could the traitor be Mr. Muldspoon, Mr. Farquatt, or Mr. O’Doul? They all seem to have a connection, but there are too many pieces that do not fit together. Even Brigit, the maid, seems to be acting strangely. John decides to get the help of Sary, his new found friend, in order to solve the crime. She sneaks around collecting evidence that seems to point to Sergeant Muldspoon as the spy, but John can’t help but think Sary may be keeping something from him. A plan is set up to capture the Sergeant in the act, but it is Sary that comes for the secret. She has agreed to help an unknown source obtain the secret in return for money and a boat to Australia in order to be with her father. She takes the plan from John and attempts to escape to the boat waiting for her. Little does she know that in the skirmish that follows, John is able to reclaim the secret and save the British Rifling secret. In exchange for his heroism, John is given a reward and is able to pay off his father’s debt, and they return to their normal lives.
Genre: Mystery
Suggested age range: 9 to 14
Annotation: This book would be great for readers interested in the Victorian Era. There are many suspects and most readers won't suspect who the real villain is.
Subject/themes: Traitors, Deception, 19th Century, London.
Awards:
- Bank Street Best Books of the Year
- Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List (VT)
- KSRA YA Book Award Master List (PA)
- Booklist (April 15, 2007)
- Publishers Weekly (June 11, 2007)
- School Library Journal (May 1, 2007 & November 1, 2007)
- Voice of Youth Advocates (August 1, 2007)
- Wesley John Louis Huffam - John’s father, who is a clerk at the Naval Ordinance Office and has a gambling problem that puts him in debt; he is a tall, slim man, who considers himself a gentleman and better than most, even though he no longer the money to back it up.
- John Horatio Huffam - A 14-year-old boy, small for his age, who is the last of the Huffams; he is the only sensible member of his family and therefore is given the responsibility of trying to find a way to pay off his father’s debt.
- Lady Euphemia - John’s large, sickly, bedridden great-great-aunt who is the heiress to all of the Huffam money; she does not care for John’s father but is willing to help John because he is the last of the Huffams.
- Sary the Sneak - A ragged girl who lives on the streets and makes her money through sneaking around; she has been paid to follow John, which is how they meet and eventually become friends.
- Mr. Nottingham (aka Inspector Copperfield) - Lady Euphemia's very theatrical solicitor; he has a grudge against the Huffams after Wesley wrote an embarrassing article about his acting abilities, and at one point he pretends to be an inspector from Scotland Yard in order to try to get John in trouble with Lady Euphemia.
- Mr. Tuckum - The bailiff who owns the Halfmoon Inn, which is a sponge house where debtors are held prior to their trial; he also considers himself a gentleman and is working with Inspector Ratchet.
- Inspector Ratchet - A detective from Scotland Yard who has come to London after hearing about Wesley’s plan to sell the Rifling secret; he has offered him a deal in which Wesley will continue to try to sell the secret and act as a gate to lure in all of the spies, in exchange for release from the traitor charges.
- Mr. Farquatt - A Frenchman who has been courting John’s sister; he asks for her hand in marriage twice before she accepts, and he is also trying to buy the rifling secret for France.
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