As a blazing inferno rages through Whitby City, Whimsy and Woe Mordaunt see their last clue go up in flames and their journey to find their parents has seemingly come to a fiery end.

That is until the siblings spot a very familiar man in the crowd...

In the final act to this dramatic tale, Whimsy and Woe must escape villainous thieves, travel beneath a desert, climb the Mountainous Mountains and perform a death-defying trapeze act in the Benton Brothers Circus...all before going undercover at the annual Thespian Society Masquerade Ball.

Can they stop The Purple Puppeteer's evil plans in time and rescue their parents? Or will The Purple Puppeteer pull their family's strings forever?

From talented author Rebecca McRitchie and award-winning illustrator Sonia Kretschmar comes the thrilling conclusion to Whimsy and Woe.

"Adventurous and Outlandish, Whimsy and Woe will hook kids in from the first page" - Books+Publishing on Whimsy and Woe

"Whimsy and Woe has it all: incredibly courageous children (hooray!), an evil calculating aunt, the ignominious Ignatius Solt (boo!) and a despicable one-legged pirate (hiss!), captivity and misery in a boarding house populated by an outlandish clientele (gasp!) and a heroic escape from a treacherous storm, imprisonment in a swamp and a wolf with razor-sharp teeth ... all told with vivid thespian style and flair." - Readings

"Rebecca McRitchie knows what young readers want. McRitchie delivers a fun, energetic read in her debut children's fiction title; it is perfect for fans of Judith Rossell's Withering-by-Sea and Lemony Snicket's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'. With non-stop plot twists, Whimsy and Woe has the ability to keep the attention of reluctant readers who will want to know what happens next." - Books+Publishing, four stars

"Written in a style wonderfully akin to Lemony Snicket, the quaint language and eccentric characters will capture your imagination and keep you up reading late into the night." - Goodreads review