ISBN 978 1 84255 574 3

Sally Gardner hits the historical romantic fiction bull's eye right in the middle with her new novel The Red Necklace, a fast-moving story set during the French Revolution.

There is the exciting background, a young dashing hero, a heroine to be rescued, a dastardly villain and a cast of colourful extras.

The fearless hero is 14-year-old Yann Margoza, who is an orphan with a mysterious past. When he was a baby, he was rescued by a dwarf called Tetu.

When we meet them, it's the freezing winter of 1789, and the people of Paris are seething with hunger and discontent. There is a whiff of revolution in the air.

Yann was born with two special gifts - he can read people's minds and he has the strange ability to throw his voice.

For the past few months, Tetu and Yann have been working in Paris with Topolain, the magician. Their act is built around a life-size wooden doll that can act like a human. It can walk and talk, and no one in the audience can work out how the trick works.

The doll is the sensation of Paris, but it's soon going to lead Yann and his friends into terrible danger.

Gardner knows how to tell a story, and in The Red Necklace, she has come up with a lively scenario of a city in turmoil and a tale of adventure, mystery and passion. It's a wonderful read.