A Bitter Magic

the long version

A deliciously quirky tale of secrets, magic, and illusions. Everything is in place: the packed theater, the Amazing Thummel, and, center stage, the magician's mysterious assistant. Some have called her the most beautiful woman in Europe. Then, in a swirl of light, she vanishes! An astounding illusion, but she never reappears. All that remains are a bloodstained white scarf and her daughter, Cisley, who lives in a glass castle and walks her pet lobster each morning by the sea. Enter Cole, a rambunctious boy from town and Cisley's first true friend. Together they hunt for clues to her mother's disappearance. They puzzle over broken mirrors, ever-shifting labyrinths, a closet full of whispering ball gowns, and a fatal quest for a pure black rose. Roderic Townley spins a deliciously spooky tale of one girl's journey to discover what's real and what is simply an illusion.