The Watcher in the Shadows

“A fabulously imaginative historical fantasy.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review of The Inquisitor’s Apprentice

At the turn of the twentieth century, New York’s Bowery District becomes the scene of a terrible murder when the Klezmer King gets fried to a crisp by his Electric Tuxedo—on stage! The Inquisitor’s apprentice, thirteen-year-old Sacha Kessler, tries to help find the killer, but the closer he gets to solving the crime, the more it sounds as if the creature that haunted him in his first adventure is back. Worse still, his own Jewish family is in danger. Sacha has avoided learning magic until now, but as his world falls apart around him, he changes his mind.

He’ll need more than just his wits to survive the magical underbelly of 1900s New York.

• Apprentice Magician: Join thirteen-year-old Sacha Kessler as he’s forced to embrace the magical powers he always feared in order to protect his family.
• Steampunk Adventure: From an electrified tuxedo causing chaos on stage to soul-stealing machines, explore a world where ancient magic and early technology collide.
• Jewish Folklore: A terrifying creature from his past returns, plunging Sacha into a world of ancient spells and legends on the streets of the Lower East Side.
• Historical New York: Dive into the gritty, gaslit world of the Bowery at the turn of the century, where immigrant life, union strikers, and magical gangsters clash.