No One Leaves the Castle

When the priceless Emerald Axe of Angbar is stolen, the Angbar family hires infamous bounty hunter the Lilac to track down the purported thief, wizard Runar the Unknowable. What the Angbars don’t realize, however, is that the Lilac is a white-cued 14-year-old girl whose bard companion Dulcinetta—described as having “tawny cheeks and an array of short braids”—has greatly overexaggerated her reputation. Nevertheless, the Lilac successfully brings Runar (who claims innocence) back to Castle Angbar, where the missing axe has mysteriously returned—and is stolen again. To capture the true thief, Runar places the castle in an inescapable magical bubble, but his sudden murder makes the enchantment seem permanent. Now the Lilac must track down an assassin in a castle full of secrets before the culprit kills them all—if the rapidly constricting bubble doesn’t do it first. The Lilac and Dulcinetta make for a congenial crime-solving team, especially when pitted against the scandal-ridden residents of Castle Angbar. In this frenetic, tongue-in-cheek whodunit, Healy (the Perilous Journey of Danger and Mayhem series) blends magic and pandemonium with a locked-room murder mystery, invoking familiar Agatha Christie flair while throwing in copious amounts of dry humor. Ages 8–12. Agent: Cheryl Pientka, Jill Grinberg Literary. (Aug.)