A deliciously quirky tale of secrets, magic, and illusions.

Everything is in place: the packed theater, the Amazing Thummel, and, center stage, the magician's mysterious assistant. Some have called her the most beautiful woman in Europe.

Then, in a swirl of light, she vanishes!

An astounding illusion, but she never reappears. All that remains are a bloodstained white scarf and her daughter, Cisley, who lives in a glass castle and walks her pet lobster each morning by the sea.

Enter Cole, a rambunctious boy from town and Cisley's first true friend. Together they hunt for clues to her mother's disappearance. They puzzle over broken mirrors, ever-shifting labyrinths, a closet full of whispering ball gowns, and a fatal quest for a pure black rose.

Roderic Townley spins a deliciously spooky tale of one girl's journey to discover what's real and what is simply an illusion.


From the Hardcover edition.

When a famous magician's assistant disappears during a packed performance, her eccentric daughter and a rambunctious friend team up to solve the mystery by investigating such clues as broken mirrors, shifting labyrinths and a closet filled with whispering ball gowns. Simultaneous eBook.

When twelve-year-old Cisley's mother, who controls real magic, disappears during a magic act, Cisley is left with her cold, distant uncle and a great mystery which will only be solved if she can summon her own magic.

When twelve-year-old Cisley's mother, who controls real magic, disappears during a magic act, Cisley is left with her cold, distant uncle and a great mystery which will only be solved if she can summon her own magic.