Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 4

Asagiri, Kafka. Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 4. 2017. 176 p. ISBN 9780316468169. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Following a confrontation between Ryuunosuke and Atsushi on a boat, Atsushi and Kyouka escaped from the clutches of the Port Mafia and returned to the Armed Detective Agency, and new lodging arrangements have both of them living together. Kyouka’s lineage is questioned by the police, but Agency President Fukuzawa claims her as his daughter.

Dazai has traced the name of the group behind the ransom for Atsushi. It is a North American group called the Guild, which is made up of rich and famous politicians, military, and cultural leaders. As the members of the Agency discuss how to deal with this new threat, the Guild arrives at their door and proposes a deal to Fukuzawa: Sell the Agency so that the Guild can use the precious Operations License, or see themselves wiped out. Fukuzawa refuses, but within 24 hours agents begin to disappear.

Atsushi himself falls prey to a trap set by Lucy Montgomery, a Guild member able to create an extradimensional space and use her rag doll Annie to crush her opponents. Atsushi finds himself outclassed and outmaneuvered. Fortunately for him, the Port Mafia is about to fight back against the Guild, and the enemy of their enemy is about to temporarily become their friend...

Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 3

Asagiri, Kafka. Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 3. 2017. 188 p. ISBN 9780316468152. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Following Atsushi’s rescue of Port Mafia assassin Kyouka Izumi after she made an attempt on a train, he must deal with the consequences of sparing her life. After all, she is wanted by the authorities for over 35 lives lost during the bombing, and at the same time the Port Mafia wants to kill her to prevent her to talk. Having spared her life, he is now responsible to decide what to do with her. Before he can decide, however, he is ambushed by Ryuunosuke and is thrown in the back of a truck. Hoping to deliver Atsushi’s head to a bidder, Ryuunosuke boards a ship with the shapeshifter and congratulates Kyouka’s unwilling role as an accomplice.

The Armed Detective Agency does not react well to Atsushi’s disappearance. The president of the Agency himself orders all personnel to participate in their newest recruit’s rescue. At the same time, Dazai finds himself in the hands of the Port Mafia, chained to a wall. Carrying a death wish, Dazai is visited by his ex-partner, Chuuya Nakahara. Dazai and Chuuya have a tense confrontation, but Chuuya suddenly realizes that Dazai meant to be here at this specific time. Dazai frees himself and investigates who would put such a high price on Atsushi’s head.

Meanwhile, a battle between a damaged Atsushi and a powerful Ryuunosuke erupts aboard the ship carrying them out of the country. Will Atsushi manage to resist Ryuunosuke’s attacks and save Kyouka?

The story continues in Bungo Stray Dogs, vol 4.

Black Butler, Vol 11

Toboso, Yana. Black Butler, Vol 11. 2012. 176p. ISBN 978-0-316-18967-5. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

With the storm abating and all of the guests gone, Sebastian reveals to the Professor what his role was in the murders of three people at Phantomhive Manor. Sworn to protect Ciel Phantomhive, Sebastian had anticipated all but the death of the young Mister Phelps. Which leads him to finding the real thirteenth member of their group during the storm. Having escaped Noah's Ark Circus, Snake has been hunting Ciel and Sebastian for their role in making his adopted family disappear. Ciel convinces him to abandon his quest of revenge and tells Snake he should stay close, as his missing family will surely turn up. Snake agrees to join the staff as a footman, much to the dismay of the personnel below.

Meanwhile in London, a hospital has accomplished the miracle of defeating death. The Aurora Society, led by Rian Stoker, has managed to bring people back from the death. Warned by his agent of the potential for paranormal activity, Phantomhive decides to investigate. The Aurora Society plans a demonstration of its skills aboard a luxury liner heading to New York, so Phantomhive agrees to board the ship, knowing that his fiancee, Elizabeth, who had tried to convince Ciel to take a vacation with her aboard the same ship.

Joining the members of the Society, they witness the impossible. A young woman is brought back from the dead in front of the assembled audience. Unfortunately, she is very hungry ...

Black Butler, Vol 10

Toboso, Yana. Black Butler, Vol 10. 2012. 176p. ISBN 978-0-316-18967-5. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Ciel Phantomhive and his guests are confined to the Phantomhive manor due to the storm, and three murder victims lay in the wine cellar, covered with white sheets. The death of two of Ciel’s guests was dreadful, but the loss of Sebastian was worse. Without the elite butler, the household staff is left to its own devices and must pick up the slack.

Phantomhive and his guests continue their investigation of the murders, knowing full well that the murderer or murderers are among them. When the staff catch vicar Jeremy Rathbone in the kitchen, they are convinced they have their thirteenth man and the prime murder suspect. Unfortunately, it is soon revealed that the vicar received a note from Sebastian the night of his murder, and came as quickly as he could from London to assist. Taking control of the investigation, Jeremy soon makes startling discoveries which could endanger Phantomhive and his guests ...

Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 2

Asagiri, Kafka. Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 2. 2017. 197 p. ISBN 978-0-316-55470-1. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Rendered unconscious during his battle with Akutagawa, Atsushi Nakajima comes to back in the offices of the Armed Detective Agency. His actions led to the death of two agents, and Atsushi feels even more cursed than before. He remembers the words of the adults at the orphanage that he should not continue to live. As the realization that the mafia will continue to come for him hits him, he decides he can no longer place the other members of the Agency in danger. He departs, and contacts the mafia to let them know he’s no longer with the Agency, but the mafia still orders a hit on their office.

Fortunately, the Black Lizard group, the mafia’s enforcement arm, is swiftly defeated by the detectives of the Agency. Atsushi accompanies Ranpo to solve the murder of a police detective. Returning to the Agency, Atsushi is reunited with those two agents whom he thought were dead. Thanks to the Agency’s doctor, they have been saved. Atsushi becomes tasked with accompanying her to the shops. Along the way they board a train, but the mafia has set up a trap for them. With bombs on board and many innocent civilians will Atsushi and Yosano be able to save their own lives?

The story continues in Bungo Stray Dogs, vol. 3.

Riders

Rossi, Veronica. Riders. Book 1 of the Riders duology. 2016. 384p. ISBN 9780765382542. 658 mins. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Gideon Blake’s father has always been his role model, A soldier in the U.S. Army, his father instilled in him discipline and a logical mind. But when his father suffered a heart attack and died while on the roof of a house they were working on, Gideon lost his compass and direction. Graduating from high school, he decides to join the Army like his father and, following basic training, enters the U.S. Army Ranger school. During his fifth parachute jump, Gideon’s main parachute does not open, nor does the emergency parachute. The odds of this happening are millions to one. Gideon manages to deploy his emergency parachute, but it is too late to avoid crashing down to the ground. Gideon hits the ground so hard that he dies from the impact.

He is revived by paramedics and transported to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he is told he will never be a Ranger due to the gravity of his injuries. He is informed that it will take at least six months for him to heal. Transported back home to California to recuperate, he notices a strange metal bracelet on his arm, and no one seems to know where it came from. He also heals very quickly. It’s only been a day back home and he can already walk without a crutch. Gideon wonders what happened to him.

A day later, at a party hosted by his sister at her residence on the university campus, he meets Daryn, an intriguing girl who begs him to leave with her at once. Puzzled, Gideon refuses. The party is crashed by three people itching for a fight, and when Gideon perceives that his sister is threatened he fights back, only to realize that his opponents are not humans, and one of them can even control his thoughts. Chasing after them, Gideon stumbles upon Daryn who had fled the party and is hiding in his Jeep. She reveals to him that he is War, the embodiment of one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, and that he must help save the world from the Kindred, demons who joined Satan in his rebellion against God but then eventually rebelled against Satan too. This Kindred seek to open a gateway to control a new world and escape their hunters. Daryn, as a Seeker, has that key. Armed with a cool sword and a fiery horse, Gideon and Daryn must now travel the world and find the other horsemen before the Kindred closes in.

Now in custody of the U.S. government, Gideon must convince the powers that be that they have to release him before it is too late. But how do you convince someone that you are one of the standard bearers of the Bible’s last chapter before it is too late?

The Demon Lexicon

Brennan, Sarah Rees. The Demon Lexicon. Book 1 of the Demon Lexicon trilogy. 2009. 322p. 610 mins. ISBN 1-41696379-0. Available both on the library shelves at FIC BRE and as an audiobook from Overdrive.

At sixteen, Nick Ryves already towers over his scrawny and crippled older brother Alan. They have been on the run for as long as Nick can remember, as their mother, Olivia, is a magician and is being hunted by the Obsidian Circle, an order of magicians she used to belong to. She reportedly stole talismans from the Obsidian Circle, and the order wants them back. Their father died protecting the family, and every few weeks or, at most, months, the three of them move to another ramshackle apartment. With Olivia in a perpetual state of psychosis, they have to fend for themselves.

Nick has never liked school, and has trouble reading. Unlike Alan, who loves to read books, Nick would rather practice with his sword and knives, ready at any time to fight magicians and demons. The two of them have kept their mother alive, and together they have managed to stay alive. But when they are contacted by two teenagers from Nick’s current school with an occult question, everything changes. Mae and her brother Jamie have experienced several strange events recently, and Jamie bears the three marks of demon possession. If he doesn’t get help soon, he will succumb to the demon seeking to take control of Jamie’s body.

Nick doesn’t want to get involved, but Alan volunteers their help. Soon, everything Nick thought he knew about the world, his past, his mother, and his brother turns out to be a lie. With the Obsidian Circle hot on their trail, who can Nick trust to survive?

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 4

Houoto, Aya. The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 4. 2016. 176p. ISBN 978-1-4215-8048-7. Available in the graphic section of the library.

Following the bizarre ceremony in which the Nue gave her a four leaf clover, Himari returns to school the next day only to be immediately stopped by Hayato Hidaka, who notices the ring. It strangely reminds him of his best friend that disappeared years ago. Hidaka is rumored to be cursed. Everyone he becomes friends with ends up hurt or worse. Himari can’t help but be intrigued. During her investigation she discovers that an ayakashi is threatening the whole family, but no one can see it. This ayakashi attempts to seize the ring from Himari but she escapes his clutches.

The boy Hidaka remembers turns out to be Aoi, his best friend who became the Nue when Momochi selected him to protect the gateway to the spirit world. Now Himari must discover a way to remove the ayakashi’s influence on Hidaka so he can finally lead a normal life. But with Aoi unable to leave the house, she can only rely on herself to solve this problem.

Soul Eater, Vol. 1

Ohkubo, Atsushi. Soul Eater, Vol. 1. 2009. 208p. ISBN 9780759530010. Available in the graphic section of the library.

Shinigami-Sama is Death incarnate, and he employs many agents to harvest the souls of humans and monsters. Known as weapon meisters, these agents partner with living weapons to accomplish these goals. Maka is one such weapon meister, and her partner, named Soul Eater, is a powerful death scythe. At 99 souls already devoured, Soul Eater only needs to eat one more, that of a witch to complete his transformation into Death’s ultimate weapon. Unfortunately, the witch they encounter is not ready to lose her soul.

Black Star and his weapon, Tsubaki, have yet to collect even one soul, so Shinigami-Sama sends them on a delicate mission to capture a witch and her human bodyguard, whose soul is strong enough to be worth 99 normal souls. Unfortunately, Black Star is such a show off that collecting these two souls will prove tricky.

Finally, Death the Kid, Shinigami-Sama’s own son, fights with twin revolvers Liz and Patty, sisters, has a very unhealthy relationship with symmetry, which causes him all sorts of trouble.

The three of them must face off against the strange and deadly enemies of the underworld to complete Shinigami-Sama’s objectives, but their own interests and quirks are likely to undermine their abilities to do just that!

Lair of Dreams

Bray, Libba. Lair of Dreams. Book 2 of the Diviners series. 2015. 613p. ISBN 978-0-316-12604-5. Available at FIC BRA on the library shelves.

When Evie O’Neill and her friends solved the ritualistic murders that were taking place in New York City in 1926, she proclaimed to all who would listen that she was a Diviner, one of the folks who possess rare talents such as being able to divine the future, or, in her case, tell the past through holding an object. Her public announcement caused a rift between herself and her uncle Will, but led to her hiring for a radio show. As America’s Sweetheart Seer, Evie parties hard and manages to spend a few days in each hotel before being evicted for being loud, inconsiderate, or simply not the type of customer the place wants.

Meanwhile, things are still gloomy at the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition and the Occult. Sam Lloyd is still searching for answers on Project Buffalo, and he’s convinced that Will knows more than he lets on. Jericho struggles with Evie’s rejection and Mabel’s obvious interest and is unsure of his next step as the only man-machine combination. Memphis continues to be tormented by his ability to heal while he watches his younger brother Isaiah develop his ability to predict the future.

Theta Knight and Henry DuBois IV pursue their musical careers, but Theta’s fear of losing control of a secret power she wields forces her to distance herself from her relationship with Memphis. Henry, for his part, continues to search for his lover. In a dream, he meets Chinatown resident Ling Chan, who, like him can travel in other people’s dreams. The daughter of a Chinese man and an Irish woman, Ling lost the partial use of her legs due to sickness and now must walk about on crutches. In her dreams, though, she does not have to.

A mysterious disease begins to spread through New York City, first in Chinatown, then elsewhere. People fall asleep, and cannot be woken up. Eventually, boils appear on their bodies and they die, seemingly burned from the inside out. In their dreams, both Henry and Ling encounter a Chinese girl coming to the United States to marry a rich husband in New York. As more and more people succumb to the sleeping sickness, the Diviners realize that this girl is somehow involved. In the shadows, a mysterious government agency is attempting to find all the Diviners. And in the background, the man with the black stovepipe pulls the strings. Can the Diviners stop the sleep sickness before it strikes one of them?

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 3

Houoto, Aya. The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 3. 2013. 164p. ISBN 978-1-42157964-1. Available in the graphic section of the library.

Having brought four friends over to Momochi House for the the first time, Aoi has told Himari that one of them is in fact a spirit who is feeding fast on the energy of the House and will transform into a demon if not stopped. Himari must devise a plan to discover who it is without revealing that she is on to the soon-to-be demon. When she realizes that Torii cannot be seen by the others, Himari knows she has found her spirit. She quickly discovers that Torii was not alone, however, but was motivated by Kasha, a powerful Ayakashi who controls the black flames of death.

Himari manages to defeat Kasha, but not before he leaves a trap for Aoi. Now the Nue, Aoi is caught in Kasha’s dark webs, and it takes all of Himari’s power to finally defeat him. Aoi learns that he is now more Ayakashi than human, and the other side beacons.

One of the Nue’s jobs is to reseal the gates that keep demons imprisoned. In a bizarre ceremony, the Nue is invested by the spirit of the evil demon Soga. The demon proves too strong, however, and the Nue is unable to shake it off until Himari’s life is threatened. She is the key to his happiness and to his grounding in the human world. But will that be enough to keep him here?

The story continues in The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 4.

The Disappearances

Murphy, Emily Bain. The Disappearances. 2017. 400p. ISBN 978-0-544-87936-2. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

It is 1942, and fifteen-year old Aila Quinn’s mother, Juliet, has just died, and her father has just been drafted by the U.S. Navy to fight in the war. With no other relatives in the small town of Gardner, Connecticut, Aila and her younger brother Myles are sent to live with Mathilda and Malcolm Cliffton in another small town called Sterling a few hours away by train. Mathilda was Juliet’s best friend when they were growing up, and Aila vaguely recalls her coming to visit them when she was four with her son Will. Present at the funeral, she volunteered to house the children while their father was away.

Pulled away from everything, Aila is resentful of her mother’s death and her departure from everything she knows. Wanting a souvenir from her mother, she takes her old copy of Shakespeare’s complete works and discovers a ring and a message addressed to Stefen and hidden in the book. In the message Juliet tells Stefen she loves him. Aila has never heard of Stefen, but her mother always kept her childhood a secret.

Arriving in Sterling, Aila quickly discovers that all is not well. The town, along with two other villages, have lost several ordinary things present everywhere else. Titled the Disappearances, these elements have vanished one at a time, every seven years, over the last thirty five years. There are no smells in Sterling. No vivid colors. No stars in the sky. No dreams. No reflections in mirrors. And the next Disappearance is coming soon. The people of Sterling have developed variants, dust that can temporarily alleviate these missing things, but for the most part they do without.

The disappearances began on the day that Juliet was born, and she is known as a catalyst. Aila quickly realizes that the people in town feared and hated Juliet, for she was the only one who regained a Disappearance when she left the town. As Aila begins to investigate this mystery, she discovers that the Disappearances appear related to Shakespeare’s plays, and her mother had taken extensive notes in her book. The more she digs, however, the more she discovers information about her mother she did not know. She also begins to fall for handsome Will, who likes her as well.

But a powerful actor is bent on insuring that no one solves the Disappearances, for there is profit to be made selling variants. With the next Disappearance fast approaching, can Aila navigates small town politics and enemies before it is too late?

Black Butler, Vol 9

Toboso, Yana. Black Butler, Vol 9. 2012. 176p. ISBN 978-0-316-18967-5. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

With the destruction of Noah’s Ark Circus behind them in Black Butler Vol. 8, Sebastian and his master, Ciel the Earl of Phantomhive, are hoping that Prince Soma’s vacation at the Phantomhive Estate is coming to a close so that peace and quiet can finally be restored. However, Queen Victoria has other ideas. Unsatisfied with Phantomhive’s report of the happenings at the Circus, her butlers deliver a request to Ciel to host and throw a banquet to a German industrialist.

Sebastian quickly organizes the event, and Phantomhive invites members of the artistic and industrial communities, including a young mystery writer. The guests are lavishly entertained, until the German industrialist is found murdered in his room. With a storm raging outside, the murderer is still in the Manor. The guests suspect Ciel, but Sebastian believes otherwise. However, when even this most capable of butlers is found dead, is Phantomhive the next victim?

The story continues in Black Butler, Vol. 10.

Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 1

Asagiri, Kafka. Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 1. 2016. 192 p. ISBN 978-0-316-55470-1. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Teenager Atsushi Nakajima has just been evicted by the orphanage, and finds himself starving and at Death’s door, when he comes upon a body in a river. Without hesitation, Atsushi jumps in and pulls the body, only to notice that the man is not yet dead. Osamu Dazai had just tried to commit suicide, and he’s rather disappointed that Atsushi has just saved him. However, he decides to reward him anyway. Osamu’s partner, Kunikida, finds him and yells at him for once again trying to commit suicide. Osamu is happy to see him, and he tells Atsushi that he will takes him out to lunch, and Kunikida will pay.

During the lunch Osamu reveals that Kunikida and him work for the Armed Detective Agency, a group staffed by individuals who possess supernatural powers and who hunt down threats that the police or the military cannot handle. Atsushi mentions that he was kicked out of the orphanage because he was blamed for the tiger attacks that destroyed the fields and some of the outbuildings, then chased him down to the city after he left. Osamu suspects that not everything is right with Atsushi, but he agrees to help him catch the tiger. That very night, Atsushi transforms into the tiger, and Osamu is able to change him back. Atsushi is offered a job at the Armed Detective Agency due to his supernatural ability.

His first assignment is to remove some squatters from the port. But the port is under control of the mafia, and the mafia enforces its will through Akutagawa, a killer who can control the black beast, tendrils of death that can strike at a distance. When Atsushi runs into Akutagawa, whose mission it is to capture the Tiger man, Atsushi’s future looks bleak...

The story continues in Bungo Stray Dog, Vol. 2.

The Diviners

Bray, Linda. The Diviners. Book 1 of the Diviners series. 2012. 578p. ISBN 0-316-12611-X. Available at FIC BRA on the library shelves.

It is 1926, and the world of jazz and exuberance has come on the scene. In Ohio, seventeen-year-old Evie O’Neill has the uncanny ability to obtain very personal information about a person from an object. The more personal the object, the more she knows about its owner. When she reveals that the town’s golden boy has gotten a girl pregnant, she is faced with a choice: apologize publicly for her “inaccurate” statement, or get exiled to New York City to live with her uncle until things die down back in Ohio. Thrilled at the possibility of heading to the Big Apple and spending time with her best friend Mabel, who lives in the same building as her uncle, Evie agrees and departs on the train.

Once in New York, she is skillfully robbed by a young man named Sam Lloyd who wakes her up to the dangers of life in the city. Meeting her uncle Will, who is the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition and the Occult, she is introduced to Jericho, with whom Mabel is enamored. Evie can see why. Tall and blond, Jericho is her uncle’s assistant and was adopted by him years ago.

In Harlem, Memphis and his younger brothers both have talents of their own. Memphis used to be able to lay hands and heal, but hasn’t summoned his ability since the death of his mother. His younger brother, Isaiah, can divine cards and see in the future. Abandoned by their father after their mother’s death, they live with their aunt Octavia. Memphis is a hustler for the local crime lord, but he really wants to be a poet.

And in an old abandoned mansion, a shadow grows. Naughty John, a prophet of the Breathens, was executed for the murder of the mansion’s former owner back in the 1850s. His spirit is back, however, and seeks to complete a ritual involving eleven sacrifices that will release the Beast. The Beast will inflict evil on the world, but will then be banished by the Breathens, leading to paradise on Earth. As Naughty John moves closer to his goal and gets stronger from every sacrifice, Evie, Memphis, and a cast of unforgettable characters get caught in a deadly intrigue of occult and paranormal. Ritual murders plague the city as Solomon’s comet approaches Earth. With only a few days left, can Evie and her friends stop Naughty John?

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 2

Houoto, Aya. The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 2. 2013. 160p. ISBN 978-1-42157963-4. Available in the graphic section of the library.

Located at the intersection of the human and of the spiritual world, Momochi house belongs to Himari Momochi, an orphan who received the house as the sole survivor of the family. However, Aoi, a Nue demon who protects the gate from angry spirits, and his Shinkis already live in the house and cannot leave the house.

Himari decide that she will free Aoi and allow him to live in the human world, a place he has not touched since he was ten. But as guardian of the house, not only can Aoi not leave, but his very presence has disappeared from human consciousness. Nevertheless, Himari continues to search for a way for Aoi to regain his humanity.

She also enrolls in school, and on the first day makes new friends. These friends accompany her back to Momochi House, and Himari is fearful they will discover she lives with three guys. Fortunately Aoi disguises himself and his servants as girls, and they pretend to be Himari’s older sisters. But one of Himari’s guests is not a human, but rather a ghost seeking to materialize as a demon by using the powers of Momochi House. Now Himari must discover which of her friends is already dead without alerting the ghost that she knows ...

The story continues in The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 3.

The Night Gardener

Auxier, Jonathan. The Night Gardener. 2014. 350p. ISBN 1-41971144-X. Available at FIC AUX on the library shelves and as an audiobook on Overdrive.

Molly and Kip are desperate. The two Irish teens have suffered two tragedies, first the potato famine in Ireland, then the sinking of the ship they were traveling on. Fourteen-years-old Molly know that her parents did not survive the sinking, but she does everything she can to let ten-years-old Kip think they are still alive. Looking for employment and hoping to avoid the orphanage, Molly accepts employment with the Windsors, who reside in an isolated estate in the middle of the woods on an island in the river. They are to to take care of Mrs. Windsor, and her children.

Locals tell them to stay away, but it is the children’s last hope. The estate is crumbling and hasn’t been maintained in a number of years. A large tree grows oppressively close to the house, and in one location seems to disappear inside it. The Windsors are pale and sickly looking. Mrs. Windsor is tired. Six-years-old Penny wants to be told stories. Ten-years-old Alistair is always eating candy. Mr. Windsor is busy losing the family’s fortune in town, and rarely comes back to the house.

Soon Molly realizes that there is a creepy presence in the house. The tree itself is conscious and is cared for by a strange gaunt and thin man who wears a tall hat. The night gardener emerges when everyone is sleeping and collects the sweat of the residents’ nightmares to water the tree. Molly also discovers that the tree itself can grant wishes, such as an endless supply of candy, jewelry, money, and stories. The tree delivers letters from Molly’s father and mother, in her mother’s neat handwriting, describing improbable stories similar to those Molly has told Kip.

Kip, however, does not sleep in the house and doesn’t know about the wishing. He witnesses the physical and psychological costs that wishing brings on its victims. When he discovers six graves by the feet of the tree, he realizes that the death of the residents of Windsor Manor are at hand. Can Molly and Kip stop the Night Gardener and the tree before it’s too late?

Fans of Peter Nimble will enjoy this dark horror tale from Auxier and will appreciate his clever use of words and descriptions.

Black Butler, Vol 8

Toboso, Yana. Black Butler, Vol 8. 2012. 176p. ISBN 9780316189651. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

Following Ciel and Sebastian’s assault on Baron Kelvin’s estate in Black Butler Vol. 7, the employees of Noah’s Ark Circus are attacking Phantomhive manor. Unfortunately for them, the manor is defended by the denizens of Phantomhive, employees recruited especially by Sebastian and utterly ready to sacrifice their lives to protect the family. Armed and dangerous, Phantomhive employees will give no quarter to their attackers.

Meanwhile, Ciel and Sebastian encounter the Circus doctor, the man responsible for creating the prostheses used by the members of the circus. Instead of using bone china, the mad doctor has connived with Baron Kelvin to kill children and use their malleable bones into his refined creation. Ciel orders Sebastian to kill and burn all of the inhabitants, including the children. All traces of this madness are to be obliterated.

They return to Phantomhive manor to find it in a state of partial destruction with Lady Elizabeth ready for new clothes...

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 1

Houoto, Aya. The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 1. 2013. 172p. Available in the graphic section of the library.

Himari Momochi is an orphan and has lived all her life at the orphanage. On her 16th birthday, she receives a will indicating that as sole survivor to the Momochi family, she is the heir to a grand ancestral property that sits out of the village’s way. Arriving on the scene to claim her heritage, she is confronted by three squatters who have moved in and have trashed the house. One of the squatters is beautiful Aoi. As Himari explores the house, Aoi tells her she should leave if she wishes to remain safe. Undeterred, Himari decides she will fix her home and enroll in the local school, and do her best to evict the squatters.

Himari soon discovers that Momochi House is located at the intersection of the human and of the spiritual, and creatures from the spiritual world often try to cross over to the human world. Himari was meant to become the guardian of Momochi House, but unfortunately Aoi has already accidentally claimed that title and is now the designed Omamori-Sama, the demon that protects the house. Attracted to Aoi, and determined to become the master of Momochi house, Himari will need to contend with angry spirits, evil demons, and aggravating servants.

The story continues in The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 2.