In the tradition of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries comes The Mysteries of Maisie Hitchins!Twelve-year-old Maisie is a noticing sort of person. Thats why she is convinced she would make an excellent detective if she ever got the chance! But instead of detecting, she spends her days polishing the banisters at her grandmother's boarding house or fetching fish for the lodgers' dinner. In The Case of the Stolen Sixpence, Maisie's big chance to prove herself finally arrives when crime strikes her Victorian London neighborhood. While the grown-ups turn a blind eye to the whodunit and justice goes un-served, Maisie and her canine sidekick, Eddie, search the streets for clues to crack the case.This first book in a series features black and white illustrations and a rollicking mystery complete with tricks, disguises, danger, and a little dog too!   "Maisie is sure to charm beginning chapter-book readers new to the mystery genre." —Booklist "Readers will eagerly await this spunky, saucy new amateur detective's next caper." —Kirkus "Emerging chapter book readers who enjoy mystery and historical fiction will find much to like here." —School Library Journal "Lindsay's humorous b&w line drawings are in step with the light atmosphere Webb creates as she lays the groundwork for future cases." —Publishers Weekly "Mystery-loving kids who have moved beyond Cam Jansen and kids who prefer their historical fiction on the light side may find Maisie's escapades to their liking." —Bulletin HOLLY WEBB is a former children's book editor who has authored over ninety books for children published in the UK. Besides Maisie Hitchins, other series that have crossed the pond include My Naughty Little Puppy, the Rose books, the Lily books, and Animal Magic. Webb lives in Berkshire, England, with her husband, three boys, and Milly, her cat. Visit her website at www.holly-webb.com . MARION LINDSAY is an illustrator of picture books and novels for children whose work has been published in nine countries. She studied at Cambridge School of Art, graduating in 2010 with a masters degree in children's book illustration. She lives in the United Kingdom. Chapter One Maisie Hitchins watched, open-mouthed, as the famous detective Gilbert Carrington came rushing down the front steps of his lodging house, hauling on his coat as he ran. His faithful assistant, Major Edward Lamb, galloped after him, clutching both their hats, and they sprang into a cab and rattled away.    Maisie stared after the hansom cab and sighed heavily. Where could they be going? It was bound to be somewhere exciting. Chasing jewel thieves, perhaps? Only yesterday, Gran’s paper had said that they were on the trail of the Larradine Rubies at last. The newspaper article confidently expected the hunt to take them to India, possibly by way of Paris, or even Madrid. It had sounded wonderful. Just imagine , Maisie thought, following footprints, spotting clues, trailing culprits . . .    The dust cast up by the cab horse’s hooves settled slowly back onto the road, and Maisie set off again. Gran would be waiting for the fish she needed to cook for the lodgers’ supper. Maisie’s grandmother ran a boarding house, and she spent all her time running around after the fussy lodgers. Maisie scuffed her boots along the pavement sadly. The fish smelled, and it was oozing out of its soggy paper parcel. She was almost certain that Gilbert Carrington never ate fish. He probably instructed his landlady never even to serve it. Certainly not in a parsley sauce, which Maisie really hated. Just because Madame Lorimer, who lived on the second floor of the boarding house, happened to have a fancy for fish, now Maisie would have to have it for her supper as well.    Still. If she hadn’t had to run out and fetch the fish, she’d never have seen Gilbert Carrington, Maisie admitted to herself, cheering up a little. Perhaps he’d been on his way to Scotland Yard? Perhaps he’d solved the mystery of the rubies already?    Maisie dawdled along, swinging the basket and daydreaming. If she walked along Laurence Road where Gilbert Carrington lived whenever she was sent out on errands, surely sooner or later she’d meet someone on their way to consult the great detective? It was lucky that he lived so close to her grandmother’s lodging house, on Albion Street. If only she could manage to run into one of his clients first, and deduce something amazing. Then she might be able to help him solve a mystery.    Maisie smiled to herself as she imagined the great man pacing up and down his rooms. He probably had all sorts of peculiar things on the walls, things that he’d picked up on his adventures. Strange African spears, sets of handcuffs, amazing jewels that people had given him after he’d rescued them . . . treasure maps . . . Carrington would be smoking his pipe—he was quite often drawn with it in the newspaper cartoons, so Maisie knew he had one. She had borrowed a pipe once, from the young man who