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? This lighthearted, fantastical mystery, featuring black-and-white spot illustrations, kicks off a trilogy of fantasies set in the seaside town. 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. The trouble is, Violet is being pursued at that moment by a strange hook-handed man.

Herbert Lemon the lost and founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel is experienced at reuniting lost item with. As various townspeople, some good-hearted, some nefarious, reveal themselves to be. It seems that Violet Parma, a fearless girl around his age, lost her parents at the hotel when she was a baby, and she’s sure that the nervous Herbert is the only person who can help her find them. 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. Inside, young Herbert Lemon, Lost and Founder for the hotel, has an unexpected visitor. 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.

And it just got stranger.A quirky, creepy fantasy set in Eerie-on-Sea finds a colorful cast of characters in hot pursuit of a sea monster thought to convey a surprising gift. Eerie-on-Sea has always been a mysteriously chilling place, where strange stories seem to wash up. No one knows what happened to Violet Parma's parents twelve years ago, and when she engages Herbie to help her find them, the pair discover that their disappearance might have something to do with the legendary sea-monster, the Malamander. Especially not when darkness falls and the wind howls around Maw Rocks and the wreck of the battleship Leviathan, where even now some swear they have seen the unctuous Malamander creep… Herbert Lemon, Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, knows that returning lost things to their rightful owners is not easy – especially when the lost thing is not a thing at all, but a girl.

Nobody visits Eerie-on-Sea in the winter. And again, if your young readers love this one, there’s a second. Herbert returns things to their owners, and Violet happens to have lost her folks in the small seaside village where the Malamander lives… Beautifully written, Malamander is about fear and judgement and assumptions.

This is the story of Violet, who needs the assistance of Herbert Lemon, a professional Lost-and-Founder. They’re frightening, especially when they may have something to do with the disappearance of your parents.

Herbert lemon malamander