The author of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase presents a darkly humorous adventure starring two troubled orphans in a weird and wild world.

Lucas Bell is lonely and miserable at Midnight Court, a vast, brooding house owned by his intolerable guardian, Sir Randolph Grimsby. When a mysterious carriage brings a visitor to the house, Lucas hopes he's found a friend at last. But the newcomer, Anna Marie, is unfriendly and spoiled--and French. Just when Lucas thinks things can't get any worse, disastrous circumstances force him and Anna Marie, parentless and penniless, into the dark and unfriendly streets of Blastburn . . .

Perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket and Roald Dahl

"There is nobody like Joan Aiken for creating chilling nightmares. In . . . Midnight is a Place we have machines which crush children to death, herds of man-eating hogs in subterranean sewers . . . . Aiken writes superbly, with a force, a color, and strength of imagination that one encounters all too rarely today." --Daily Telegraph (UK)

"An abundance of action, suspense, and melodrama . . . there is never a dull moment." --School Library Journal

"Aiken knows how to keep a kid on the edge of his seat." --Book World

"The author proves once again that she writes about children in distress better than anyone since Dickens." --Time