"A brooding, Dickensian novel with a touch of fantasy and a glimmer of
hope. . . . As mysterious and timeless as a fairy tale." -- Booklist
(starred review)
Laura Amy Schlitz's Newbery Honor-winning Victorian gothic is a rich
banquet of dark comedy, scorching magic, and bewitching storytelling.
Clara Wintermute, the only child of a wealthy doctor, invites master
puppeteer Grisini to entertain at her birthday party. When Clara
vanishes that night, suspicion falls upon the puppeteer and his orphaned
assistants. The three children -- two penniless waifs and one pampered
heiress -- have been caught in a trap set by Grisini's ancient rival, a
witch with a deadly inheritance she's determined to shed before it's too
late.