Since teen savant Maxine Schooling awoke from a coma to the news that her entire family had been murdered, she has lived the following year under the shadow of that unknown killer. Even as she aided criminal investigations in Singapore, and reconnected with a tight network of family and friends, she has never felt completely safe. Now the Man in the Mask has returned, and Max must rely on her courage, resourcefulness and eidetic memory to survive.
Reader's Reviews:
“Ning Cai is a wonder.” –Neil Gaiman, internationally celebrated author of The Sandman and The Ocean at the End of the Lane
“Smart and funny, Max is exactly the best kind of companion to travel with through this clever, high-octane thriller. After the first book, I was hooked, and this second instalment in the series doesn’t disappoint. This is Max coming into her own. More please!” –Jane McKie, author of Kitsune and senior lecturer, University of Edinburgh
“Maxine Schooling is the funny, curious, kick-ass best friend you always wanted, in a twisty, action-packed adventure that grabs you from the first page. Manipulation has never been so much fun!” –Jane Alexander, award-winning author of A User's Guide to Make-Believe
“Ning Cai’s writing has the drama and invention one might expect from a former star performer in the world of magical illusion. Her stories unfold at pace with numerous surprising twists, all carefully planned, one feels, not to trick the reader but to entertain, which she does not only ‘in spades’, but all the suits in a deck of cards.” –Robert Alan Jamieson, author of Plague Clothes