The Toymaker

Jeremy de Quidt lives in Somerset, England, with his wife and their three children. This is his first novel.
From the Hardcover edition.

Gr 6-8–The titular character does not long to bring joy to the hearts of children. Instead, he seeks to create a knife so sharp it can cut the heart from a living being, so he can transplant it, along with its life force, into one of his tiny mechanical dolls. The story, set in an imaginary 18th-century Germanic dukedom, begins with a short prologue describing the Toymaker's workshop in the capital city. Readers are then plunged into the perils of Mathias, boy servant to Gustav, a conjurer in a traveling circus. Supernaturally skilled, Gustav boasts when drunk that he knows a very big secret. As he lies dying, the evil Dr. Leiter appears, clearly after the secret, which seems to be written on a tiny wad of paper Mathias retrieves from Gustav's mouth. The plot then follows Dr. Leiter's pursuit of Mathias through the countryside. Companions join the boy in his flight, none entirely trustworthy: Katta, an abused serving maid; Koenig, a mysterious gentleman-robber; and Stefan, a youth from a charcoal burner's camp hidden deep in the forest. Dr. Leiter also has allies: Marguerite, a mechanical doll who can detect lies; and Valter, a superhumanly strong, indestructible, and sinister servant. Eventually the chase ends in a ruined monastery in the capital city, where the terrible secret is revealed at last: one that involves the Toymaker and could shake the dukedom to its foundations. With its choreographed fights, damaged bodies, flowing blood, and cliff-hanging chapter endings, the story will appeal to readers who like nonstop action.Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
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