![]() First edition | |
Author | Katherine Woodfine |
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Language | English |
Series | The Sinclair's Mysteries |
Genre | Children |
Publisher | Egmont Publishing |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Media type | Print ( Paperback) |
Preceded by | The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth |
Followed by | The Mystery of the Midnight Peacock |
The Mystery of the Painted Dragon is the third novel in The Sinclair's Mysteries book series by British children's author Katherine Woodfine published by Egmont Publishing. The novel is the third book in a four book mystery-adventure series set in Edwardian England. [1] The first book in the series was The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow which was Waterstones Children's Book of the Month in June 2015. [2]
Sophie Taylor and Lillian "Lil" Rose, the main female protagonists, are quite bored from lack of mysteries to solve and the business of everyday life in Sinclair's. An art exhibition of some of the finest and most renowned work in the country is to be displayed in Sinclair's and one of the focal pieces is the Green Dragon by Benedetto Casselli, the second artwork in the Casselli sequence, a painting which was especially presented to the exhibition by His Majesty the King Edward VII. On the first day of the exhibition, the cloth supposedly covering the Green Dragon is removed and everyone is shocked to see that the original painting has been stolen and the copy painting of an art student at the Spencer Institute for Art, Leonora "Leo" Fitzgerald is replaced. Leo is present and insists that she didn't do it, as she disposed of her artwork after a rich art benefactor Mr Raymond Lyle criticised it, saying it did not resemble the original painting whatsoever despite its imaginative flair demonstrated in the artwork. Investigation by Detective Inspector Worth is held and he recruits Billy as his assistant in interviews, to which Billy is quite proud of. Sophie, Lil, Billy and Joe decide to investigate further and help Leo to discover the truth. They have perilous encounters, make risky decisions and face many obstacles. Will they find out who stole the painting, before it is too late?