Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head
-
- $8.99
-
- $8.99
Publisher Description
Edgar Award nominee for Best Juvenile Mystery
The book is about, among other things: the strongest boy in the world, a talking cockatoo, a faulty mind reader, a beautiful bearded lady and a nervous magician, an old museum, and a shrunken head.
Blessed with extraordinary abilities, orphans Philippa, Sam, and Thomas have grown up happily in Dumfrey’s Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders. But when a fourth child, Max, a knife-thrower, joins the group, it sets off an unforgettable chain of events.
When the museum’s Amazonian shrunken head is stolen, the four are determined to get it back. But their search leads them to a series of murders and an explosive secret about their pasts.
This sensational new series—a 2016 Edgar nominee for Best Juvenile book and New York Times bestseller—combines the unparalleled storytelling gifts of Lauren Oliver with the rich knowledge of the notorious relics collector H. C. Chester.
What you will find in this book:
A rather attractive bearded ladySeveral scandalous murdersA deliciously disgusting Amazonian shrunken headFour extraordinary children with equally extraordinary abilitiesA quite loquacious talking bird
What you will NOT find in this book:
An accountant named Seymour A never-ending line at the post office Brussel sprouts (shudder) A lecture on finishing all your homework on time A sweet, gooey story for nice little girls and boys
Learn more about the series online at www.thecuriosityhouse.com
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: step right up and don't be shy. You must not you absolutely cannot! put this book down." With this bit of honest advertising, so begins this captivating series opener from Oliver (The Spindlers) and Chester (a pseudonym for Oliver's father, author Harold Schechter). A curiosity museum in financial trouble, "the only place on earth where four extraordinary children like Thomas, Sam, Pippa, and Max could fit in," faces bigger problems after a string of accidents and murders are linked to a shrunken head in its collection. Using talents of contortion, strength, mind-reading, and knife-throwing, the four children attempt to save the only home they know, while contending with dangers lurking all over 1930s New York City, from seedy reporters to mad scientists. A quick-paced plot is bolstered by the bonds of friendship these unusual yet endearing children form as they try to solve a mystery greater and more personal than they ever expected. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8 12.
