The Amadeuses were always considered somewhat strange. Even before the
incident.
When six-year-old Beatrice Willoughby vanished at the Amadeuses' annual
All Hallows Eve party, people in the tiny mountain town of Nevermore
were quick to whisper: They were always odd. Their house is full of
dark magic. And when Mort Amadeus was pegged for the crime, the
Amadeuses, once the center of society, retreated. They closed their
doors, disappeared from life. People almost forgot. Until thirteen years
later, when six envelopes land at the doorstep of six households in
town: We cordially invite you to a celebration on the 31st of October
this Saturday evening at the Amadeus household.
So begins the mystery of who was really responsible for the missing girl
thirteen years ago. Was it Duchess von Pelt, whose face no one has ever
seen? Mrs. Raven, the keeper of the local inn? Wormwood, the Amadeuses'
mysterious caretaker? Dr. Foozle, the town pharmacist? Count Baines, who
seems to know when unlucky things are about to happen? Judge Ophelius,
who presided over Beatrice's case originally? Mr. and Mrs. H, a couple
who no one can ever quite remember? Or somehow, might precocious,
thirteen-year-old Dewey and his storytelling dad, Chaucer, be somehow
mixed up in all this?
The guests must work together to identify the guilty party among them
over the course of the evening--but beware the ticking clock, because at
midnight, everything is going to change! Told from different
perspectives, this is a sly, darkly funny mystery. Filled with strange
characters and set in a mansion deep, deep in the woods. G. Z. Schmidt
has crafted an unforgettable puzzle, perfect for reading on a dark
autumn night.
