• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2020 May #2
  *Starred Review* In the wake of his Newbery Honor Book Scary Stories for Young Foxes (2019), Heidicker adopts an appropriate pseudonym for this equally chilling series opener. Desperate for the money needed to keep his visionary brother Graham safe from ominous experiments in the local asylum, orphan Wally Cooper joins forces with Arthur Benton—another young rascal whose main ambition is to be like Garnett Lacroix, the flamboyant gentleman thief of a cherished series of adventure novels. But their attempted burglary of a supposedly empty mansion pitches them into the midst of a frantic struggle to preserve the fragile Veil that separates the residents of Real Kingsport from the Fae realm of embodied nightmares and imaginings. Unfortunately, those imaginings are already leaking through with rapidly escalating effects: an eerie doll whose touch turns people to porcelain gives way to giant tentacled monsters. Along with spot art, Earley portrays some of these creatures, along with select characters, in a sparse array of expertly modeled portraits. Arthur's climactic realization that the monsters are all drawn from the exploits of his literary hero supplies the key to suppressing this outbreak, but hints of a broader, ongoing conflict remain for sequels. Wally's friend Breeth, an intrepid, pun-loving child ghost who can occupy any organic item, is just one scene-stealer in the unusually colorful supporting cast. Grades 6-8. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.

Professor William Shivering lives in a house by the sea with three cats and a one-eyed raven named Glinda. When he's not writing true stories about fake worlds, he enjoys walking the cliffs and conversing with the moon. He's the president and founder of CASPR (Coalition for the Appreciation of Shades, Phantasms, and Revenants), a non-profit that provides assistance to disembodied peoples. Professor Shivering employs an assistant, Newbery Honor winner Christian McKay Heidicker, though he seldom if ever takes Christian's writing suggestions. Mr. Shivering is rarely cold.

Christian McKay Heidicker reads and writes and drinks tea. Between his demon-hunting cat and his fiddling, red-headed girlfriend, he feels completely protected from evil spirits. Christian is the author of Scary Stories for Young Foxes (a Newbery Honor book), Cure for the Common Universe, and Attack of the 50 Foot Wallflower and the co-author (with William Shivering) of Thieves of Weirdwood. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Anna Earley is a Midwestern girl living life with a flair for the fantastic along with a coiled, corn snake companion named Moxy. Ever since childhood she has loved creating whimsical creatures and vibrant worlds and characters. That passion led her down the path to become an illustrator. She believes that art has a unique ability to communicate and tell stories that excite the imagination and speak to the soul. When she isn’t drawing, Anna can be found writing, studying history and mythology, roaming the woods, or listening to an ever-growing collection of music.