The Sinister Booksellers of Bath

Description

'This is the book for anyone who has ever said "I don't read fantasy".' - Fran Atkinson, Sydney Morning Herald, about The Left-Handed Booksellers of London There is often trouble of a mythical sort in Bath. The booksellers who police the Old World keep a careful watch there, particularly on the entity who inhabits the ancient hot spring. Yet this time it is not from Sulis Minerva that trouble starts. It comes from the discovery of a sorcerous map, leading left-handed bookseller Merlin into great danger. A desperate rescue is attempted by his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, and their friend, art student Susan Arkshaw, who is still struggling to deal with her own recently discovered magical heritage. The map takes the trio to a place separated from this world, maintained by deadly sorcery performed by an Ancient Sovereign and guarded by monstrous living statues of Purbeck marble. But this is only the beginning, as the booksellers investigate centuries of disappearances and deaths and try to unravel the secrets of the murderous Lady of Stone, a serial killer of awesome powers. If they do not stop her, she will soon kill again. And this time, her target is not an ordinary mortal. A wintry return to the somewhat alternate 1980s England of The Left-Handed Booksellers of London.

Garth Nix has been a full-time writer since 2001, but has also worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and as a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. Garth's books include the Old Kingdom fantasy series: Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, Clariel, Goldenhand and Terciel and Elinor; SF novels Shade's Children and A Confusion of Princes; fantasy novels Angel Mage; The Left-Handed Booksellers of London and sequel The Sinister Booksellers of Bath; and a Regency romance with magic, Newt's Emerald. His novels for children include The Ragwitch; the six books of The Seventh Tower sequence; The Keys to the Kingdom series; and Frogkisser! His short fiction includes more than 60 published stories, some of them collected in Across the Wall and To Hold the Bridge. He has co-written several books with Sean Williams, including the Troubletwisters series; Spirit Animals Book Three: Blood Ties; Have Sword, Will Travel; and Let Sleeping Dragons Lie. More than six million copies of Garth's books have been sold around the world, they have appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, The Bookseller and others, and his work has been translated into 42 languages. He has won multiple Aurealis Awards, the ABIA Award, Ditmar Award, the Mythopoeic Award, CBCA Honour Book, and has been shortlisted for the Locus Awards, the Shirley Jackson Award and others.

"A warm, whimsical delight--The Left-Handed Booksellers of London is a witty, clever adventure in an exquisitely detailed world you will love escaping into." --Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Divergent series and the Carve the Mark series "This is my favorite kind of tale, one where the magic and the real nest together like pages in a book. A delightful read." --V.E. Schwab, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of the Shades of Magic series and the Monsters of Verity series "Readers will beg for more adventures in this London." -- Kirkus Reviews "Susan Arkshaw - 18, white-blonde buzz cut, Hendrix t-shirt - goes in search of the father she's never met, but things go awry when a hatpin-wielding, gender-fluid bookseller kills the one person who might hold the clue to his whereabouts. Set in London in 1983, this riveting urban fantasy delivers on all fronts: a magical, curious world brimming with nostalgia and references to the author's loves - ancient evil, books, reading, Susan Cooper, Tolkien, London taxis, incidental diversity. This is the book for anyone who has ever said "I don't read fantasy". Nix confirms that booksellers are extraordinary beings with special powers." -- Fran Atkinson, Sydney Morning Herald