S S Saywack
S S Saywack is a retired teacher of Art, design, and history of art and taught in a sixth-form college. Previously, in another career, he was a Graphic Designer. He studied Information Graphic and worked as a designer until 1999 when he changed career and became a lecturer. His third career is that of a writer, and he’s written several children/Middle-Grade novels upon retiring from teaching. His interests vary between writing and making art, as well as playing the guitar semi-well, and the piano pretty badly. He was born in Guyana and came to Britain in 1962 when his parents moved to London to live permanently.
He has lived in London ever since, where he was educated at both school and university levels and worked mainly in central London as a designer. S S Saywack’s books have won several awards. Mary Finch and the Thief, won Gold on the 2022 Wishingshelf Award, as well as Gold for the Entrada (Incipere) Award, 2022. Inglestone Manor also won Gold, in 2022, for the Entrada (Incipere) Award.
His books include the Mary Finch series of Victorian mysteries:
Mary Finch and the Thief, Mary Finch and the Grey Lady, Mary Finch and the Spy, Mary Finch Endgame, and the chapter book, Mary Finch Runaway. And Inglestone Manor, a children’s novel set in 1944.
***WINNER of the WISHING SHELF BOOK AWARD*** for teenagers.
***WINNER OF THE INCIPERE AWARD (ENTRADA PUBLISHING)*** for children’s book.
It seems the war will never end.
When Lizzy and her brother and sister are evacuated to the village of Inglestone, they find their new home strange. Under the shadow of the ruined Inglestone Manor, they meet Dorothy Inglestone, the last of her line, and the ever-watchful Mr and Mrs Gains.
When they are told of a treasure hidden in a ruin manor, they can’t resist trying to find it. In their hunt, they come across a strange boy roaming the ruins. Not only is he wanted by the police, but he is also wanted by the Gains.
Can the Allens keep a secret and not betray the boy? Before long, their loyalties will be tested.
Meet thirteen-year-old Mary Finch – a bold, determined heroine, and the star of a stylish new detective series. Perfect for fans of Enola Holmes and classic crime fiction.
Mary Finch and the Thief (Book 1)
Mary Finch and the Thief is the first in the Mary Finch Mystery series. It is 1893 and Mary Finch finds herself on the gritty and violent streets of Victorian London trying to clear her name.
Mary Finch and the Grey Lady (Book 2)
The avenging spirit of a priestess to an Egyptian queen, the Grey Lady, has murdered five people and now has her sights set on Mary Finch’s employer. How do you kill a spirit set on revenge?
Mary Finch and the Spy (Book 3)
When a bomb goes off at a society party, Mary’s long-lost brother is blamed. When secret naval plans are stolen, she wonders why Sherlock Holmes’s brother, Mycroft, is leading the police astray.
Mary Finch Endgame (Book 4)
As Christmas 1893 approaches, the future looks bright for Mary Finch. No longer a maid, she is about to take up employment in the most secretive of places when an old enemy comes back to haunt her. Suddenly, her life is turned upside down when her best friend is arrested for murder and she is attacked and almost killed.
Mary Finch Runaway
A fateful journey and an accident are about to change young Mary Finch’s life forever. Her wanderings will take ten-year-old Mary from London to Liverpool and back again, across the dirty streets of the capital, and will lead her to the Dibbles and the Grimwigs.