In a magical Victorian England, can an orphan and his friends defeat the scheming Madame Pinchbeck? “[A] gothic adventure full of secrets and surprises.” —Sunday Times (Book of the Week)

Madame Augustina Pinchbeck travels the country conjuring the spirits of dearly departed loved ones . . . for a price. Whilst her ability to contact ghosts is a game of smoke and mirrors, there is real magic behind her tricks too—if you know where to look . . .

Through a magical trade, she persuades children to part with precious objects, promising to use her powers to help them. But Pinchbeck is a deceiver. Instead of helping them, she turns their items into enchanted Cabinets that bind the children to her, and into which she can vanish and summon them at will.

When Pinchbeck captures orphan Leander, events are set into motion that see him and his new friends, Charlotte and Felix, in a race against time to break Pinchbeck’s spell, before one of them vanishes forever . . .

“Original, evocative and eerie . . . I adored it!” —Michelle Harrison, author of A Pinch of Magic

“A completely enthralling tale, oozing with atmosphere and originality.” —Catherine Doyle, author of The Storm Keeper’s Island

“A thrilling page-turner. Madame Pinchbeck is a gloriously Dickensian villain.” —Abi Elphinstone, author of Ember Spark and the Thunder of Dragons