Nobody visits Eerie-on-Sea in the winter. Especially not when darkness falls and the wind howls around Maw Rocks and the wreck of the battleship Leviathan, where even now some swear they have seen the unctuous malamander creep…

Herbert Lemon, Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, knows that returning lost things to their rightful owners is not easy – especially when the lost thing is not a thing at all, but a girl. No one knows what happened to Violet Parma’s parents twelve years ago, and when she engages Herbie to help her find them, the pair discover that their disappearance might have something to do with the legendary sea-monster, the Malamander. Eerie-on-Sea has always been a mysteriously chilling place, where strange stories seem to wash up. And it just got stranger…

Out May/September 2019

304 Pages approx.

MY THOUGHTS:

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

OMG! I loved this book!

The characters are so fun and exciting, incredibly developed and full of quirky silliness. The whole concept of the setting, the town, the people in it… I was mesmerized by the fun originality of it all.

The pacing was smooth, not super fast, but nonetheless very effective with enough tension and creepiness to push the story along. There were enough twists and turns and action to keep you turning pages.  I love the concept behind the Book Dispensary–magical and unique, just like the guy on the beach, the guy with the hook for a hand… <sigh>

I live by Lake Erie, so I love how the author thought up a twist to the word, summing up all the shenanigans of a place known as Eerie. Love it! There’s a mystery to solve (or several), and who better to solve them, then kids with a mysterious past. While we’re at it, let’s add a bit of mechanical monkeys, a funny glowing egg, a fantastical sea monster, strange and quirky people, a shade of devious and put it all by the water for a great nautical adventure! Pssst! Add a few illustrations too!

The author has a knack for writing stories for kids that even adults will love. The smooth flow of story-telling genius is something I really appreciate when picking up a book. You don’t have to wait for several chapters to find yourself engrossed and intrigued and that is extremely important. The hook catches you right away, as it should, and causes you to keep reading. I finished this book in two sittings.

Loved, loved, loved it!

I gave the book, wish I could give it more: