Shadowghast (Legends of Eerie-on-Sea #3)

As the residents of Eerie-on-Sea anticipate Ghastly Night, their Halloween tradition, a troupe of entertainers arrive, led by the beautiful magician Caliastra, who claims to be Herbie Lemon's aunt and the lone survivor of the shipwreck that orphaned him and washed him ashore in a lemon crate. But Herbie's spunky friend Violet and his guardian, Lady Kraken, owner of the Grant Nautilus Hotel, where Herbie is the Lost-and-Founder, question the truth of Caliastra's claim. The magician is in possession of the magic lantern, which releases the Shadowghast, a ghost that absorbs shadows and makes their owners unwilling subjects of a sinister and mysterious Puppet Master. When Violet's guardian Jenny and eccentric beachcomber Mrs. Flotsam go missing, Herbie and Violet embark on a mission to find their friends and discover the deep secret of Eerie-on-Sea. Filled with all of the exciting twists, delicious humor, vivid characterization, and visual description of other books in the series (Malamander, Gargantis), readers will relish this third foray into the unique town and its memorable inhabitants. Herbie is cued as white. VERDICT Another imaginative winner in the series that will appeal to all readers.—Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Coop. Lib. Syst., Bellport, NY