Letty and the Mystery of the Golden Thread

Anybody who found themselves in the rigging of the good ship Lotus very early that morning would have seen an unusual sight: a shy, plump girl with a magpie fidgeting on her shoulder, holding in her hand a glinting coin... Twelve-year-old Lettice Breech is excited to visit Europe with her Pa, who is eternally fascinated by ancient objects. Together they're going to admire breathtaking French art, astounding Roman ruins, and spectacular Greek carvings. But their plans are dashed when part of a famous statue is exposed as a forgery, and Pa is thrown in gaol for the crime. Pa has taught Letty how to tell a real antiquity from a fake, but she needs the other pieces of the statue to prove it. So she escapes to France with only a notebook of clues in her pocket, and her pet magpie for company. Soon Letty is whisked from her quiet life on an adventure to bustling cities, underground mazes, and misty mountains.