Subtitled "Octavius Guy and the Case of the Throttled Tragedienne", this was an enjoyable romp of a historical crime novel set in the underworld of Victorian London, with a teenage crime lord as our principle detective. I galloped through it. To be honest, I suspect if I'd read it more slowly and carefully, I would have found a few holes in the story - but it was a fun read. ( )

In short, this book is wonderful! The story of Octavius, or Octopus, his younger brother, his friend Bertha/Bertram, and the mystery of who killed his friend was such a delightful romp through the streets of 1850s London. The characters are fantastic, they feel real, and the whole book just sucks you in from the first word. Everything about this book feels real, actually, and I had to keep reminding myself not to google for photographs of the characters. This was such a surprising read, not only in the excellency of the story and story-telling, but also in who the actual murderer was. One of my favorite books this year, hands down. And I've already purchased the rest of the author's catalog, something that rarely happens for me. Thank you so very much to LT, the LTER program, and to the author and publisher for the outstanding gift that was this book! ( )

An historical fiction detective story taking place in 1850's London. The main character is a 14 year old, who has become the kingpin of the criminal underworld, but also works as an investigator for a lawyer. Had me hooked from the start. Great story and easy to read. Thank you Michael Gallagher and LibraryThing. 4 1/2 stars. ( )

Surprisingly good, despite the fact that the PI, Gooseberry, is only 14. I will read the others in the series. ( )

Very amusing book about Octavius Guy, a fourteen year old boy in the Victorian age who is a detective. His newest investigation is about the murder of the leading actress on stage during a performance of "The Duchess of Malfi" at the Sadler's Wells Theatre. I liked it.
Bigger review (in Dutch) on https://alimolenaar.nl/stukjes/theater-en-romans-octopus
Disclaimer: I got this book in the Librarything Early Reviewers. ( )