The Toymaker Book

What good is a toy that will wind down? What if you could give a toy a heart? A real heart. One that beat and beat and didn't stop. What couldn't you do if you could make a toy like that?

From the moment that the circus boy, Mathias, takes a small roll of paper from the dying conjuror, his fate is sealed. For on it is the key to a terrifying secret, and there are those who would kill him rather than have it told.

Pursued by the sinister Dr. Leiter with his exquisite doll and malevolent dwarf, preyed on by the circus master and his vicious painted wife, Mathias is drawn into a relentless nightmare. A nightmare that will lead him to the Toymaker, and to a knife as cruel as frost.

A relentlessly dark and sinister tale of a young boy's living nightmare, this debut novel will send shivers down your spine and will haunt you long after the final page. With the atmosphere of Philip Pullman's I Was a Rat!, this is a brilliantly frightening tale from an exciting new literary talent.

From the Hardcover edition.

Publishers Weekly

The death of an elderly, down-on-his-luck conjurer sparks a bloody treasure hunt in this well-written yet unrelentingly bleak debut. For years, the conjurer Gustav has held onto a great and terrible secret, and when he unexpectedly dies, the only clue passes into the hands of his mistreated grandson, Mathias, who's subsequently taken in by the menacing Dr. Leiter, who will do anything to get the information he seeks. Rescued from Leiter by impulsive serving girl Katta, Mathias and his new friend go on the run, eventually meeting up with Koenig, a mysterious bandit who swiftly takes charge of the situation. Mathias and his companions must discover the secret before Leiter and his minions kill them. The poetic descriptions and lyrical narrative do little to hide the general unpleasantness of the plot, shallow characters, and dismal tone (nor do Blythe's skillful, but often disturbing pencil illustrations). There's simply too much of bad people doing bad things to not-as-bad people to appeal to a wide audience. More horror than fantasy, this grim adventure may leave readers yearning for a happier ending. Ages 10-up. (Aug.)