Jack Buckles, American, is in London with his mother and sister trying to find out what happened to his father, a man who was reported dead but now they can't seem to find his body. While Jack's mother goes out to search the hospitals and morgues, Jack is supposed to stay in the hotel with his eight-year-old sister. But when she sees a man that looks like their father and runs out of the hotel. Jack finally finds her but a sinister man rushes them into a nearby building, the Lost Property Office. There he meets Mrs. Hudson, who is in charge of helping people find lost items and people and she seems to be really in love with forms and making sure they're filled out. Jack is about to leave but it stopped by Gwen Kincaid who introduces him to the real Lost Property Office, the one that his father is part of, a world where Jack's apparent ADHD is really a superpower.
This is a great book for world-building -- explaining Jack's role as the 13th Jack Buckle, combining history and current day, showing how Gwen and Jack would work together in the future. I've been reading a lot of Sherlock Holmes adaptations and this one really worked for me. Sally, the sister, was WAY too plot-moppet-y but there are signs that she may grow some character in later books.
Four stars
This book comes out November 8
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