Shadow in the North — Philip Pullman

Will the sea give up its dead?

Sally Jjckhart, spirited heroine of The Ruby in the Smoke, is back! The year is 1878, and Sally, once again defying Victorian sensibilities, has gone into business for herself. When one of her clients loses a large sum of money in the unexpected collapse of a British shipping firm, Sally is determined to find out .what happened. (But as she dares deeper into the identity of the wealthy and elusive industrialist who owns the doomed company, the answers to her questions become murky indeed. Sally enlists the help of her fiance, Frederick, and her friend, Jim, but they may be too late. Powerful individuals are holding the keys to the mystery, and they will stop at nothing -- including threats on Sally's life -- to shroud the truth.