(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Watts. Emily Crane (Book Scavenger; The Unbreakable Code) is feeling the pressure of her outsized reputation as a puzzle-solver at publisher Garrison Griswold's elaborate mystery game night on Alcatraz Island. Then an actual mystery involving a reclusive author arises. Readers can work the puzzles alongside Emily and friends in this cheery celebration of San Francisco landmarks, ciphers and codes, and close friends working as a team.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Watts. When their teacher, Mr. Quisling, begins a furtive book quest that results in fires around San Francisco, puzzle aficionados Emily and James (Book Scavenger) try to discover who's setting the fires, while simultaneously solving a Mark Twain–related "unbreakable code" to find treasure. Cryptographers and mystery lovers will enjoy following the clues as the smart plot and whom-to-trust character development keeps readers guessing.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Watts. During a trip, Quinn, her best friend Kara, and Kara's family stop at the mysterious Inn Between. In the morning, Kara's parents have disappeared, stranding the girls at the inn, and strange, spooky happenings convince them that they are in danger. Readers who like their stories scary--but not too scary--will enjoy the blend of mystery and understated horror.

Reviewer: Lauren Chambers

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Watts. Bogler's apprentice Ned Roach risks his life with each new case, luring a child-eating bogle so his mentor, Alfred Bunce, can dispatch it; that's only one of the dangers, for Alfred has drawn the attention of London's criminal underworld. Fans will appreciate this trilogy-ender's (How to Catch a Bogle; A Plague of Bogles) accessible prose; inventive, briskly paced plot; and quasi-Victorian setting. Glos.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2016

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Watts. Garrison Griswold, mastermind of the hidden-book game, Book Scavenger, is mugged; his new edition of an Edgar Allan Poe story is missing. Twelve-year-old Emily and fellow code-enthusiast James find the book and discover typos in the text that spell out words. Codes and ciphers star in this puzzle-game of a novel. An intriguing author's note gives further information on Poe's love of ciphers.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2015

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Watts. In this sequel to How to Catch a Bogle, street urchin Jem hopes to make a living catching child-eating bogles and to get revenge on Sarah Pickles, who betrayed him. Jem discovers that his aims are related: when he finds Sarah, he also finds the source of the bogle proliferation. With plenty of action and colorful Victorian street language, this is a speedy, characterful yarn. Glos.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2015

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Watts. Stefan Drosselmeyer, a clockmaker's apprentice, builds clockwork jaws to crack the special nut needed to restore the princess of Boldavia after an enchanted rat bite. When the rat bites him, Stefan must take part in the ensuing rat/human war as an enchanted nutcracker. Smith's energetic tale takes off in unexpected directions within the framework of its inspiration, The Nutcracker.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Watts. In this quasi-Victorian fantasy, apprentice Birdie uses her clear singing voice to lure child-eating bogles out of hiding so her master Alfred can destroy them. Then the worst happens: Birdie is captured by dreadful Dr. Morton, who thinks nothing of feeding children to bogles to further his megalomaniacal aims. Jinks is an assured storyteller: character, plot, and style develop with buoyant, pleasing momentum. Glos.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2013

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Watts. Victoria does what she's told, loves order, and is used to being the best. Breaking the rules isn't how she usually operates--that is, until children start disappearing, including her only friend, Lawrence; Victoria traces the source to a nearby orphanage run by the (seemingly) lovely Mrs. Cavendish. Imaginative and creepy, with a frightening villainess, this atmospherically illustrated fantasy will suck readers in.

Reviewer: Andrea Curtis

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah Watts. Josh's family moves into the Tilton House, a dwelling containing tilted floors, talking rats, and other mysteries. As Josh digs deeper into the place's history, he begins to unravel the story behind the home's creator. Llewellyn's characters struggle with obstacles both mystical and mundane in this busy (sometimes distractingly so) story.

Reviewer: Pearl Higgins