This was very exciting and enjoyable. Two little girls are left in the care of their heretofore unknown distant cousin-turned-governess, and then their lives start going way downhill in quality. Mistreated, abused, starved, locked up and finally sent to an even more cruel orphanage/school. I thought that Miss Slighcarp was delightfully wicked, and I loved the spunk and resourcefulness of the children. I thought that all of the characters were well drawn and that there was a whole lot of stuff just jammed into this short novel.
The story was perfect as a standalone, but I'll now have to be on the lookout for more in this series, to see what happens next.