THE SECRET STARLING

Ballet intrigue and a neglected manor in the wild Yorkshire moors take center stage in a tale of who am I and whodunit.

It’s 1974, and Clara has been raised by her authoritarian uncle in falling-apart Braithwaite Manor with governesses and Cook as her only companions. Then Cook is suddenly dismissed and Uncle disappears. Cook’s grandchildren and an orphaned boy from London named Peter suddenly show up, and the old house, which has been put up for sale, is suddenly filled with fun. But Clara wonders about her dead mother, a ballerina, and the identity of her father, about whom her uncle refused to speak. After she and Peter find an old ballet shoe, they travel to London together to research her mother in archival newspapers. While there, they uncover critical information about Peter’s neighbor and why Uncle disappeared. Events unfold quickly, with Rudolf Nureyev’s defection from the Kirov Ballet a key plot element. Rioux’s atmospheric, full-page, black-and-white artwork lends a nostalgic feel to the work. Unfortunately, some of the characters’ connections and motivations are not sufficiently explained, and the text lacks the humor and humanity that would elevate it above the credulity-straining plot. The characters default to White; two of Cook’s grandchildren read as Black in the illustrations.

Family mysteries are solved thanks to a ballet slipper.