A girl who has spent her life in disguise tackles a mission that uncovers lies and surprises around every corner. Nothing is as it seems in the next cozily creepy monster mystery from acclaimed author Shaun David Hutchinson. Sam Osborne may have helped her new friend Hector Griggs save St. Lawrence’s Catholic School for Boys from a terrifying monster, but she is still trying to prove herself as a member of Kairos, the secretive and shadowy government agency devoted to investigating the strange and unusual. And her unique ability to control how others see her makes her the perfect agent…if she can learn to play by Kairos’ rules. Her next mission? Use her powers of disguise to infiltrate the family of a former agent to find top secret information about monsters hiding in plain sight. But even though Sam is well versed in deception, she may not be prepared for the web of secrets she uncovers. Especially since she may not be the only one pretending to be someone — or some thing —she’s not. And once the clues are unraveled and the truth is revealed, the monsters she’s searching for might just be closer to home… "[T]he worldbuilding is creative and detailed, and the various mysteries will keep pages turning ." — Kirkus Reviews "Brief chapters, intriguing dilemmas, and near-constant twists will keep readers on edge throughout this substantial addition to a thoroughly creepy and captivating adventure series." — The Horn Book Shaun was born in West Palm Beach, Florida on the first of May 1978. He was a bad student who enjoyed sleeping through class, debate, theater, and being a pain in the ass. In college, he studied medieval and renaissance literature before abandoning his degree to work in I.T. doing database design. Shaun is now a full-time author living in Seattle. 1 Uncle Archie was a liar. Professionally. He could spin a story from nothing, weav-ing the threads of it together so expertly that the person being lied to might never see the seams. Big lies, little lies. Uncle Archie had mastered them all. I’d seen him lie to bankers and bakers and lawyers and police. I’d even seen him lie to a priest, though I kept my distance when he told that whopper. Just in case. But every liar has a tell, and though Uncle Archie didn’t know it, I had discovered his. Right before Uncle Archie was about to lie, he checked the time. Usually it was nothing more than a glance at his watch or phone, over and done so quickly that it was easy to miss. I’d been with Uncle Archie half my life, and it had taken me a couple of years to spot the pattern. But once I’d noticed it, I couldn’t help seeing it each and every time. “Didn’t you hear me, Samantha?” Uncle Archie said. “Go fish.” Oh, I’d heard him. I’d also seen him glance at the time on his phone right after I asked if he had any eights. Usually watching Uncle Archie lie was like watching from backstage while a magician worked, but I hated when he lied to me. I tossed my cards face up on the folding table. “Why are we even playing this silly game? I’m not six anymore. Are you afraid you can’t beat me at a real game?” Uncle Archie set his cards face down and folded his hands in front of him. He looked like a librarian and had the patience of a kindergarten teacher. “When playing against a superior opponent, sometimes the only way to beat them is to choose a game you know you can win.” “Even if you have to cheat?” “When the stakes of the game are life and death, there are no rules.” I rolled my eyes. “Oh boy. Another lesson.” I stood and walked to the small cooler against the unpainted wall and grabbed a water bottle from inside. The floors were dusty cement, and the unfinished, abandoned office building smelled like mildew, but it was five stories tall and offered unobstructed views of our surround-ings. “These lessons may save your life one day.” “I’m tired of lessons.” I crossed back to the huge holes in the exterior walls where the windows should’ve been and looked across the street to an empty lot littered with garbage, overgrown with weeds and grass, and encircled by a six-foot-tall chain-link fence. “We should be there,” I said, pointing out the window. “Dealing with the furax.” “We’re observing,” Uncle Archie said. “Observation is potentially the most im-portant aspect of our work. Proper observation and identification prevents us from blundering into situations we’re unprepared for and putting our lives, and the lives of those around us, in mortal peril.” With his boring suit and haircut, no one would have guessed that Uncle Archie worked for a clandestine organization that investigated strange phenomena and creatures that most people thought only existed in myths and fairy tales. No one would’ve guessed it about me, either, because they saw me as just a kid, but I could change my appearance. Make people believe I was anyone I chose. I’m not saying I had superpowers, but it was a power and I was pretty super. “Seven people have reported walking into t