There’s some serious swashbuckling underway in this follow-up to the high-spirited The Cabinet of Wonders (2008). When readers last saw Petra and her father, she had foiled the Prince of Bohemia’s evil plans and was back at home. This brief peace is abruptly shattered, however, when the prince sics his uniquely horrific Gray Men on Petra’s home and she barely escapes, thanks to the machinations of the English spy, John Dee. Taken to England, Petra is determined to escape from Dee’s home, even as her friends Tomik and Neel search for her abroad. When Petra makes a bet with Dee that she can solve a murder case before he can, she has no idea of the betrayals and secrets that await her. Once readers get past Petra’s incessant whining in the first half of the story, they’ll be engrossed in a tale that is part mystery and part fantasy, with a reveal at the end so grotesque they’ll be clamoring for the next book’s release date. A true original. (Fantasy. 10-14)
