The Pearl Thief

Sixteen-year-old Julie Beaufort-Stuart returns to her family's ancestral home in Perthshire for a bittersweet summer marked by goodbyes, including that of beloved Highland travellers, the McEwens. As tensions rise following the mysterious disappearance of a London archivist, suspicion unjustly falls on the McEwen family. Convinced of their innocence, Julie embarks on a quest to prove them wrong, only to discover that the family's pearls are also missing. Set in the year before World War II, this evocative novel explores themes of community, justice, and a young girl's resolve.