The Curious Vanishing of Beatrice Willoughby

In the remote European town of Nevermore, a child disappears each year around All Hallows’ Eve. Even so, 13 years ago, the Incident—the vanishing of the mayor’s six-year-old daughter from the Amadeus family’s annual All Hallows’ Eve party—rocked the community. In the aftermath, no satisfying explanation is found, but Mort Amadeus is arrested, and the Amadeuses cast a spell over their Inkwoods-situated home. Now, six unexpected invitations to the Amadeus mansion bid guests to return for an October 31 gathering. When the manor doors lock until midnight, the caper becomes a Clue-style mystery meant to root out those responsible for the event. Attendees include an alchemist, an heiress, a hypnotist, and a spy—as well as 11-year-old Dewey O’Connor, who systematically assesses possible suspects. Ghost dogs, unsettling scarecrows, a sinister groundskeeper, and heaps of eerie clues await the partygoers and their shadowy hosts. Supplying a relentless tempo to this uneasy whodunit, the chapter headings count down to midnight as Schmidt (The Dreamweavers) pits the wary guests against both the clock and one another in a fiendishly clever mystery whose atmosphere is thick with fevered accusations and Halloween fun. Protagonists read as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Adria Goetz, Martin Literary Management. (Sept.)