James R. Hannibal presents a thrilling adventure through history, complete with mysteries, secret items, codes, and a touch of magic in this stunning middle grade debut. Thirteen-year-old Jack Buckles is great at finding things. Not just a missing glove or the other sock, but things normal people have long given up on ever seeing again. If only he could find his father, who has disappeared in London without a trace. But Jack’s father was not who he claimed to be. It turns out that he was a member of a secret society of detectives that has served the crown for centuries—and membership into the Lost Property Office is Jack’s inheritance. Now the only way Jack will ever see his father again is if he finds what the nefarious Clockmaker is after: the Ember, which holds a secret that has been kept since the Great Fire of London. Will Jack be able to find the Ember and save his father, or will his talent for finding things fall short? Gr 4–7—Thirteen-year-old Jack and his little sister Sadie come to London with their mom in search of their missing dad. The kids stumble upon the Baker Street Branch of the Lost Property Office, managed by a Mrs. Hudson and established by the Ministry of Trackers. It turns out that Dad is really a Tracker, with a supernatural ability to read clues in stone (one that Jack shares) and he's been kidnapped by a mysterious Frenchman called the Clockmaker, who wants Jack to find the magical Ember, which started the Great Fire of 1666. Jack and a young apprentice clerk named Gwen experience a series of wild adventures through time and hidden, magical corners of the city (think "Harry Potter" meets Dr. Who, with steampunk-esque beetle drones). Jack discovers things about his family and their place in history that are beyond anything he could have ever imagined. Jack is originally described as having behaviors that could put him somewhere on the autism spectrum, but he doesn't show those behaviors past the opening chapters of the book. In fact, the characters are the least interesting part of this tale—it's the highly detailed magical world that stands out. Still, the ride is fast and fun. VERDICT Buy where fantasy flies off the shelf.—Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library Winner of the 2017 Silver Falchion for Tween/YA Mysteries "The ride is fast and fun. VERDICT Buy where fantasy flies off the shelf." - School Library Journal "Hannibal imaginatively delves into history by linking Jack's search for the Ember with London's historic fire. This fast-paced start to the Section 13 series will please readers who like their mysteries with fantasy and action." - Booklist "A wondrously imaginative tale that will invigorate the child in all of us." - Providence Journal "The book carries with it a remarkable breakneck pace, filled with dynamic sensory images. The tight focus, intriguing secrets, strong characters, engaging villain, and all-around excitement were exceptionally appealing to me and I think will be to many young readers." - Publishers Weekly ShelfTalker James R. Hannibal is no stranger to deep dark secrets or hunting bad guys, having served in the US Air Force as a stealth bomber pilot and a Predator mission commander. Like Jack Buckles, James “suffers” from synesthesia, an intersection of the senses that was once considered a mental illness and often causes hyperobservance. If you bake him a cake, he might tell you that it smells blue and sticky—and you should take it as a compliment. You can learn more at TheLostPropertyOffice.com. The Lost Property Office Chapter 1 A PAIR OF rather large, blue-green beetles buzzed north over the River Thames, weaving back and forth over the water’s surface in that haphazard pattern that beetles fly. Had they bothered to look, the early-morning joggers in London’s Victoria Tower Gardens—wrapped up against the December cold in their leggings and winter caps—might have caught the glint of the rising sun reflecting off iridescent wings. Had they looked even closer, they might even have wondered if those wings were made of some strange metal alloy. But they did not look. No one ever does. The bugs did not go entirely unnoticed. A pike leaped out of the river and snatched one from the air for breakfast. As the fish splashed down with its meal, the remaining beetle halted its progress and hovered, buzzing impatiently. The murky brown depths lit up with a muted blue flash and the pike floated lifeless to the surface, a look of dreadful shock in its round eye. The captured beetle crawled out of its gill, shook off a bit of fish goo with an indignant flutter of its clockwork wings, and rejoined its companion in flight. The beetles left the Thames at Parliament and flew skyward, hugging the eastern wall of the House of Lords. Upon reaching the rooftop, they continued north, dodging dozens of Gothic spires and hundreds of pigeon spikes, before climbing again, this time flying up the southern wall of the Great Clock Tower—known to the world as B