The Bone Snatcher

Sophie is a servant in a creepy house by the sea. The sea is full of sea monsters that will eat you if you set foot in it, and almost everyone fears it. Sophie, however, does not. In fact, she thinks it’s rather beautiful. To make sure the sea doesn’t attack the house, Sophie has to feed it, by throwing it bones, wooden planks, or scraps from dinner. Her employer’s twin sons make her life miserable, but she discovers the existence of a monster box that will cure the world of the “Sea Fever” – although now she has to find it before the twins do.

The book not particularly likable. The twins’ cousin, Cartwright, was both ignorant and frustrating; he was trying to get Sophie to find the monster box for him. He kept putting her in danger but claimed he didn’t realize the danger. And Sophie had the most frustrating feelings toward him – hating him and wanting to kiss him by turns. That relationship was confusing and irritating. The plot was an interesting premise, but the characters ruined the story; only the butler, Scree, was likable because he was the only one who had any sense.