Malamander

Twelve-year-old Herbert Lemon lives and works in the Grand Nautilus Hotel in the strange and frequently foggy seaside town of Eerie-on-Sea. The hotel’s ‘lost and founder’, he’s tasked with cataloguing lost things and trying to find their owners. But his newest ‘lost’ item is rather different: an enigmatic girl called Violet Parma.

Left in the hotel as a baby after her parents mysteriously disappeared, Violet is determined to find out what happened to them and wants Herbert’s help. Following the clues quickly leads Herbert into far more danger than he’d like, opening up a whole lot of questions about the town’s extremely eclectic mix of residents and the secrets they’re hiding. And on top of this, things keep pointing them towards the terrifying legend of the malamander, an infamous local sea monster which Herbert would really rather stayed a legend…

Supernatural elements and a steampunk feel combine to make this a fun, mystery-filled adventure with lots of spine-tingling twists and turns. It’s peopled with lots of unusual characters and quirky places, while Herbie is a reluctant hero with a mysterious history of his own to be discovered – luckily, there are more books to come in this addictive new series.