I suspect that the only other way to concoct a great adventure novel like The Shadow Runner (about a bright and curious young rich girl swept downward into a Victorian/Steampunk world of thieves and assassins) would be to lock Charles Dickens, Ursula Le Guin, and Elizabeth Moon in a room until they hashed something together upon pain of death. Since that’s not likely, it’s a good thing we have K.J. Fieler!

Ada, the daughter of an upper-class couple, is the model of an up-and-coming young lady with a good nature and a promising future…until she is kidnapped by the very “ghost” she’d tried so hard to convince herself could not possibly exist. Her bright future seems to be gone and her survival depends completely on how fast and how well she learns to fight, steal, and kill. Ada maintains character and honor in the midst of horrific misfortune…my favorite kind of hero.

I enjoyed every page of this page-turner and I’m sure most adventure readers will too.