Montmorency On The Rocks: Doctor, Aristocrat, Murderer?

Sequel to "Montmorency: Thief Liar Gentleman?" Montmorency and his gentleman friends, Lord George Fox-Selwyn and Doctor Farcett, find themselves caught up in two mysteries: Who is responsible for the bombings at King's Cross train station and Waterloo? And what is causing the babies of Tarimond to die? The Tarimond mystery is much more involved and compelling while the bombing mystery seems wrapped up too neatly, the solution convenient. Still, the novel sets a great time and place, conveying the luxury of a gentleman's life, the isolation of Tarimond, and the atmospherics of mid-19th century Europe. Some rather adult topics as well: Montmorency's graphic drug withdrawal symptoms, sly but fairly innocuous references to prostitutes, and show more Vi's surprise pregnancy at the end of the book...by whom??? No young characters featured but enjoyable for dedicated young readers nonetheless! show less

This is the second book in the series and it did not disappoint. We meet up with Montmorency and co. 5 years after the previous book. Montmorency is still dealing with guilt over his criminal past and turns to drugs to deal with it. After his friends help him get clean, they must solve two mysteries. Who is killing all of the children on a small Scottish island and who is bombing train stations in London? One of the things I appreciate about this series is that the characters and situations are not all black and white, good and evil. Rarely is real life, so it is nice to see a YA book that reflects this.

I really like the character of Montmorency. He is flawed and very likable--I guess mostly he is believable, which is always nice to find in books. In this book, he battles a drug addiction so that he can aid his friends (and country) to capture a bomber. Nothing is what it seems and the culprits are people you never suspect. Like most sequels, I felt that this second book wasn't as intriguing as the first Montmorency, but still a good teen read.

Not as good as the first one. The drug angle is a bit contrived, the bomber is very contrived, and the whole island story doesn't fit with the rest. Each bit was OK - not wonderful, but OK - but the links & reasoning are very weak. And what a stupid place to stop! Who's the father?

In Victorian London, when Montmorency and his alter ego, Scarper, reunite with Dr. Farcett, the two cooperate to capture a bomber and become involved in solving the mystery of the poisoning of a village of Scottish children.