Lovecraft crossed with John Bellairs-is dank, misty fun. This creepy, quirky debut trilogy opener-think H.P. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review) Booth’s black and white art gives full life to the characters, and fans of Lemony Snicket or Pseudonymous Bosch will find their next adventure here. Herbie makes an excellent narrator, well versed in Eerie-on-Sea’s strangeness but, ironically, clueless when it comes to Violet, and he manages both wit and vulnerability. A lack of firm resolution hints at future visits to this winningly strange town.

Taylor assembles the sort of supporting cast that makes anything seem possible.Odd encounters and narrow escapes set in motion by the arrival of Violet Parma, searching for parents who had disappeared on the beach 12 years before, lead her and half reluctant young Herbert Lemon, who had himself washed up as a baby in a crate of lemons, to a desperate climactic struggle. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title.

As various townspeople, some good-hearted, some nefarious, reveal themselves to be monster hunters on the sly, can Herbert and Violet elude them and discover what happened to Violet’s kin? This lighthearted, fantastical mystery, featuring black-and-white spot illustrations, kicks off a trilogy of fantasies set in the seaside town. And the town legend of the Malamander - a part-fish, part-human monster whose egg is said to make dreams come true - is rearing its scaly head. The trouble is, Violet is being pursued at that moment by a strange hook-handed man. It seems that Violet Parma, a fearless girl around his age, lost her parents at the hotel when she was a baby, and she’s sure that the nervous Herbert is the only person who can help her find them.

Inside, young Herbert Lemon, Lost and Founder for the hotel, has an unexpected visitor. It’s winter in the town of Eerie-on-Sea, where the mist is thick and the salt spray is rattling the windows of the Grand Nautilus Hotel. A quirky, creepy fantasy set in Eerie-on-Sea finds a colorful cast of characters in hot pursuit of a sea monster thought to convey a surprising gift.

Malamander book series