Sarah Todd Taylor grew up in Yorkshire, England, and Wales, surrounded by books and cats. She likes to sing opera in wonderful dresses, and now lives in Wales with her fabulous husband and two guinea pigs.

[Sarah Todd Taylor] deftly interweaves finely detailed descriptions of pastry-making skills and spycraft to conjure an intrepid heroine.--Publishers Weekly

"All the elements of a marvelous story, including a clever, likable young hero with a strong moral compass."--Kirkus

"A series opener that will delight tween mystery sleuths while leaving them anxiously awaiting the next installment."--Charla Hollingsworth, School Library Journal

A young pastry chef turned spy in mid-1930s Paris boards a luxury train in order to steal papers from an enemy agent.
Thirteen-year-old Alice Éclair is an accomplished pa^tissie`re, creating cakes and pastries in her mother's pa^tisserie. She's also been receiving mysterious puzzles, codes, and sets of instructions in the mail. Someone is training her to be a spy-and she eventually deduces that it's her uncle Robert, who was believed to have drowned in the Seine two years ago. Now, at his request, Alice takes on a dangerous mission, boarding the luxurious Sapphire Express in hopes of stopping a German spy. She balances her pastry duties with her spying-somewhat conveniently at times. On the train she encounters an Englishwoman journalist, a pair of American jazz musicians, and a professor and his teenage daughter from England. Alice is clever, plucky, and accomplished, but a surprising twist reveals that, despite her uncle's advice to "trust no one," she may have made an error in judgment. Relying on her maman's motto, "nothing is ever wasted and nothing cannot be saved," brave, scrappy Alice refuses to give up on a mission whose critical importance becomes clear to her the more clues she uncovers during her dangerous and suspenseful journey through France.
Has all the elements of a marvelous story, including a clever, likable young hero with a strong moral compass.

--Kirkus

Gr 5 Up-Alice Éclair is a precocious young teenager in 1930s France. She designs intricate iced cakes and treats at her mother's bakery in the center of Paris, while in her spare time she's an amateur sleuth solving various codes and puzzles. For over a year, an anonymous person has been leaving codes for her all around the city with each solution leading to the next clue. The latest clue directs her to steal from an unsuspecting socialite and become a chef on upscale cross-country train the Sapphire Express. Once on the train, Alice gets to work impressing the head chef while also trying to figure out which passenger is a spy smuggling documents. When Alice does find them, she realizes the true motives behind this mission have been hidden from her. Set just before World War II, this fast-paced series debut centers plucky young baker Alice in an action-packed story young readers will love. Compelling surrounding characters, mouth-watering food descriptions, and a plethora of twists and turns throughout will keep pages turning. VERDICT A series opener that will delight tween mystery sleuths while leaving them anxiously awaiting the next installment.--Charla Hollingsworth, School Library Journal

Publisher: Bound to Stay Bound Books

Pub date: 2025-03-18

Length: 204 pages