Alfie Sparrow and the Nineshadows

A spectacular new fantasy series from the global bestselling author of The Whisperwicks - combining the richly imagined worlds of Katherine Rundell's Impossible Creatures and Struan Murray's Dragonborn with the page-turning kid appeal of Skandar.

Alfie was in no mood for nonsense, but nonsense found him nonetheless.

Unusual things always seem to happen to Alfie Sparrow. So when he meets Jackdaw, an old man with a magical staff, he thinks little of it. Jackdaw gifts Alfie a mouse that's supposed to solve his family's problems. Instead, it starts eating away at anything it can get its hands on - hinges, screws, nails, and then, the connection between his family and friends. Now everyone has forgotten Alfie ever existed.

Alfie tracks Jackdaw to a hidden city, Anastasia, where he is taken on as a prentice by the Nineshadows of Hawkspire Tower and finds himself training as a sorcerer detective to investigate magical crimes.

Alfie must draw upon his newfound magic and friendships to solve the mystery of his forgotten existence and prevent a conspiracy that threatens this strange new world he now calls home.