Malamander (The Legends of Eerie-on-Sea)

“Fans of Lemony Snicket or Pseudonymous Bosch will find their next adventure here.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
It’s winter in the town of Eerie-on-Sea, where the mist is thick and the salt spray is rattling the windows of the Grand Nautilus Hotel. Inside, young Herbert Lemon, Lost-and-Founder for the hotel, has an unexpected visitor: Violet Parma, a fearless girl around his age who lost her parents at the hotel when she was a baby. She’s sure that the nervous Herbert is the only person who can help her find her parents. The trouble is, Violet is being pursued by a strange hook-handed man. And the town legend of the Malamander—a part-fish, part-human monster whose egg is said to make dreams come true—is rearing its scaly head. As various townspeople, some good-hearted, some nefarious, reveal themselves to be monster hunters on the sly, can Herbert and Violet elude them and discover what happened to Violet’s kin? Featuring black-and-white spot illustrations, this lighthearted, fantastical mystery kicks off the Legends of Eerie-on-Sea series — now available in paperback with a bright new cover featuring Herbie and Violet.