Orphan Simon arrives in London looking for his friend, Dr. Field. Although he follows Dr. Field’s instructions to a boarding house near the Thames, Dr. Field appears to be unknown there. Simon finds the art school where Dr. Field arranged for him to study and bides his time while he watches for clues to his friend’s whereabouts. Simon is delighted to find his old friend and fellow orphan, Sophie, who is now the companion of the Duchess of Battersea. Simon, Sophie, and several new-found friends must band together to save the duke and duchess and the king from a Hanoverian plot.

What’s not to like about this fun adventure filled with villains, heroes, and mistaken identities? It’s a perfect way to spend a cozy afternoon and evening bundled up against the winter cold. ( )

Simon, the foundling from "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase", arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting. Instead he finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a wicked crew's fiendish caper to overthrow the good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea. With the help of his friend Sophie and the resourceful waif Dido, Simon narrowly escapes a series of madcap close calls and dangerous run-ins. In a time and place where villains do nothing halfway, Simon is faced with wild wolves, poisoned pies, kidnapping, and a wrecked ship. This is a cleverly contrived tale of intrigue and misadventure.

This is the second in the author's series of books begining with the Wolves of Willoughby Chase. The continuing and principal character is young Simon who goes to London to be a painter. He falls in with an eclectic bunch of characters, including the traitorous Twites with whom he lodges and their mischievous but appealing scamp of a daughter Dido. Simon discovers a plot by Hanoverians to overthrow the king of Britain in this alternate 19th century, James III (Stuart). While quite good fun, I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first one and the ending seemed a little rushed. I will pursue the series though. ( )

This is a tremendously entertaining story beginning with Simon and his donkey arriving in London to look up his old friend. Everything starts to go confusingly awry and then just as they start to settle down the fantastic mystery and adventure takes off. I loved the language that appears to be a combination of historic dialect and possibly made up words, that even if not understood can be hilarious. The lavishly drawn characters are a reminder of Dickens' and just as entertaining. I look forward to the next book in the series to find out what happened to the loveable brat Dido Twite. Although it's a book for any age group, I just wish Aiken's books had been part of my childhood reading when I would have devoured them. ( )

When I finished Wolves last Wednesday, I determined I would wait a while before starting Black Hearts--read some serious grownup books, you know. That resolve lasted until Monday when I found myself in the Children's Room at the library searching for "Aiken." Thank goodness I have the willpower of an overtired three-year-old. I don't know what I was thinking. Wait, indeed. I feel that Dido in particular would be disappointed in my foolishness.

Naturally, I did not make the same mistake twice, and when I turned in Black Hearts, I immediately went to get The Cuckoo Tree. ( )