Paris 1750 - Since her father's death, Madeleine Chastel has been forced to work in her mother's 'Academie', actually a brothel in a seedy part of Paris catering to all tastes and perversions. Now through one of her mother's clients, a police officer, Madeleine has a chance to escape this sordid life. Someone is needed to spy on the household of Dr Reinhart, a maker of fabulous lifelike automatons. Is Reinhart a talented mechanical engineer suitable to be introduced at the court of Versailles, or is he dabbling in black magic?
Wary of revealing herself, Madeleine manages to work her way into the confidence of the household, particularly that of Reinhardt's seventeen year old daughter, Veronique, but she's also troubled by the strange disappearances of young children from the streets. Parisians are growing scared and angry, gossip spreading about who might be abducting the children, and why.
The Clockwork Girl is a chilling, atmospheric novel set in mid-18th century Paris, against the backdrop of real historical events in which children disappeared mysteriously.
The story progresses through the eyes of three women of differing positions in society; Madeleine, now employed as a maid, Veronique, Reinhart's daughter newly returned from a childhood spent in a convent, and Jeanne, Madame de Pompadour, mistress of the king. Through their eyes we're introduced to the extremes of Parisian society - from the lowest depths to the glittering court of Louis XV. It's all too obvious that these two worlds cannot exist beside each other for much longer; that poverty and anger will lead the Parisians to revolt.
It's slightly 'slow burn' in mood. For most of the book the building of atmosphere, the gradually unwinding of Madeleine's back story and her current growing fear of something dreadful hiding in plain sight, take priority over action and dramatic events, but it's these aspects, particularly Madeleine's growing unease, that lend credibility to the plot.
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