Eerie-on-Sea Mysteries (5 book series) Paperback Edition by Thomas Taylor (Author) , Reading age 8 – 12 yearsTom Booth (Illustrator)

“Fans of Lemony Snicket or Pseudonymous Bosch will find their next adventure here.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
 
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. Inside, young Herbert Lemon, Lost-and-Founder for the hotel, has an unexpected visitor: Violet Parma, a fearless girl around his age who lost her parents at the hotel when she was a baby. She’s sure that the nervous Herbert is the only person who can help her find her parents. The trouble is, Violet is being pursued by a strange hook-handed man. 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. 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? Featuring black-and-white spot illustrations, this lighthearted, fantastical mystery kicks off the Legends of Eerie-on-Sea series  — now available in paperback with a bright new cover featuring Herbie and Violet.