The New Cut Gang Books in Order

The New Cut Gang stories show Philip Pullman in a lighter, more rambunctious mood. Set in the 1890s in Lambeth, on the south bank of the Thames, they follow a self‑appointed band of child detectives who would much rather chase crooks than sit in school.

The gang is a gloriously mixed bunch. There’s Benny Kaminsky, quick‑witted and always hatching plans; Thunderbolt (Sam), whose nickname comes from a legendary punch; Bridie Malone, sharp‑tongued and fearless; Sharky Bob, the six‑year‑old mascot; and the Peretti twins, Angela and Zerlina, outwardly angelic and inwardly pure trouble. Together they patrol the New Cut, a lively stretch of markets, pubs and back alleys teeming with bookies, costermongers, street preachers and petty criminals.

In Thunderbolt’s Waxwork, fake coins start appearing all over the neighbourhood, and suspicion falls squarely on Thunderbolt’s own father, a tinkerer with a knack for odd inventions. Horrified at the idea that he might be arrested, the gang set out to find the real forger. Their investigation takes them from riverside dives to a creepy waxworks and into more danger than any of them had bargained for.

The Gas-Fitters’ Ball throws them into a second case. A fortune in silver has been stolen from the Gas‑Fitters’ Hall, and the adults seem no closer to solving the theft than they were to stopping the counterfeit coins. Armed with only a blob of candle wax and an unusually long match as clues, the New Cut Gang decide that they—and perhaps their friend Orlando, billed as the strongest man in the world—will have to crack the case themselves.

Pullman has enormous fun with Victorian slang, tall tales and stage‑melodrama plotting. These stories revel in disguises, narrow escapes, jailbreaks and last‑minute revelations, all told at a pace that makes them ideal read‑aloud material. Yet beneath the jokes there’s a clear sense of justice: the kids recognise hypocrisy when they see it, and they’re quick to side with the unfairly accused or the underdog.

Readers don’t need any prior knowledge of Pullman’s other work to enjoy The New Cut Gang. The books work beautifully as fast, funny mysteries for confident younger readers, and as a window into the noisier, scruffier corners of Victorian London that rarely make it into more polished historical fiction.