'I heard a murder being planned.'
Scarper Jack is a chimney-sweep's boy and he's actually in a chimney when he hears two voices planning a murder. He knows where and when it's going to happen – but there's no way he can stop it.
With the help of two unexpected friends – a posh boy and a sewer rat of a girl – he sets out to solve the mystery and track down the murderer.
Only to find that it can be dangerous to know too much . . .
Christopher Russell has been a scriptwriter on numerous television and radio programmes, including EastEnders, A Touch of Frost and Midsomer Murders. He was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize for Brind and the Dogs of War and shortlisted for the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize for Smugglers. He lives in the Isle of Wight.