Secret in St. Something - Tapa dura

Tells of the turn-of-century hardships young boys faced living on the streets or working in factories as brothers Robin and his baby brother Danny flee their horrible home and mean stepfather to survive on their own in the basement of a church.

Ms. Wallace has written Victorian mysteries that include a parlor, a tavern, a castle, a scullery, and a gallery. But she claims never to have lived in a tavern or a castle, or owned a parlor, a scullery, or a gallery. So far she has not lived in a tenement, either. She simply dwells in a nice little house in Alexandria, Virginia, with her very nice husband; affectionate Burmese cat, Cleo; and forty-year-old turtle, Peter. Son, Jimmy, daugher-in-law, Christina, and Victoria and Elizabeth, their two daughters, live nearby.