Starred Review The resort of Eerie-on-Sea makes an appropriately named setting for the scary adventures of two orphaned (or seemingly orphaned) children who find themselves swept up in a scheme to seize the wish-granting egg of a legendary mer-creature ("half man, half fish, half goodness-knows-what"). Whether the Malamander even exists is a matter of much conjecture, but along with heavy fogs, weird howls, and spooky yarns spun around the sunken old battleship rusting just offshore, Taylor assembles the sort of supporting cast that makes anything seem possible om Lady Kraken, enigmatic proprietor of the Grand Nautilus Hotel, who spies on the whole town through a moon-powered "cameraluna," to oily, murderous author Sebastian Eels and a crazed undead mariner who "smells like something bad is about to happen." That's to say nothing of the talking cat or the mechanical mer-monkey in the window of the Eerie Book Dispensary that will, for coins, recommend peculiarly useful titles. Odd encounters and narrow escapes set in motion by the arrival of Violet Parma, searching for parents who disappeared on the beach 12 years before, lead her and half-reluctant young Herbert Lemon, who himself washed up as a baby in a crate of lemons, to a desperate climactic struggle. A lack of firm resolution hints at future visits to this winningly strange town. Finished illustrations not seen.

Not your average coastal getaway, Eerie-on-Sea is brimming with secrets, including its own monster.In the dismal offseason, young Herbie Lemon, the Grand Nautilus Hotel's cautious (he's heard the legends) Lost-and-Founder, is on the job, keeping warm, when Violet Parma, abandoned at the hotel as an infant 12 years ago, arrives, searching for her lost parents and fleeing pursuit. Fearless and determined, she recruits Herbie into her schemes. He knows she isn't telling him her whole story—but then, he isn't telling her (or readers) his, either. When a clue leads them to the Eerie Book Dispensary, a mechanical mermonkey steers Violet to a book about the malamander, an aquatic monster that lays a magical egg at Midwinter, then takes it back. Other egg seekers include a local author; the imperious hotel owner, whose grandfather once possessed it; the ghostly Boat Hook Man; and Violet's parents. (Her father, the only character identified by race, is black; whether the white default that seems to apply to the rest of the book applies also to Violet is unclear.) While present-tense narration frequently has a bland effect on fantasy, flattening time and the contours of history, here lively characters, droll humor, and steampunk-tinged worldbuilding counter the effect. The limited art available for review amplifies the spookiness. The deeply atmospheric setting is a standout.This creepy, quirky debut trilogy opener—think H.P. Lovecraft crossed with John Bellairs—is dank, misty fun. (Fantasy. 8-12)