Overview

This dark and thrilling adventure, with an unforgettable heroine, will captivate fans of steampunk, fantasy, and romance.

On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train she meets a young librarian, Jimson Quiggley, who is traveling to a town on the edge of Screen to work in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is stopped by men being chased by the handsome young marshal Thomas Saltre. When Saltre learns who Lena’s father is, he convinces her to spy on Mr. Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, Zephyr House. A daring escape in an aerocopter leads Lena into the wilds of Scree to confront her deepest fears.

“Readers graduating from the stories of C.S. Lewis and Edward Eager will be right at home—and cat lovers will adore Jimson’s employer’s pet, Mrs. Mumbles…extensive world-building…“

Publisher’s Weekly

“the ambiguity surrounding the existence of Peculiars and the origin of their physical deformities—magic? genetics?—is thought-provoking.…richly atmospheric read”

Kirkus

 

 

Early reviews

Examiner.com: “McQuerry’s lexis as a poet lends itself to her writing, masterfully crafting the stunning visuals aboard an aerocopter’s (flying carriage) maiden flight as well as the intimate sentiments Lena experiences as a young lady in search of herself.”

Eigenseiden Bloggen:  “Thank you, Maureen Doyle McQuerry, for the three gifts you have given a reader of The Peculiars: an interesting story well told; new, fun words to look up or words used in ways I’m not used to using them; and characters for whom I developed such affection that it made me a little wistful to reach the end of the story.”

Ninjagirlreads: If you’re looking for that rare mix of adventure, true historical facts mixed with steampunk fantasy, and a sprinkling of romance on the side, give McQuerry’s book a go.

 

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