This chunky fantasy tome marks the beginning of a trilogy that continues the tradition of magical, Victorian-inspired worlds. Mr. Coulton and Alice Quicke are detectives tasked with finding children with Talents and bringing them back to learn and find shelter at the Cairndale Institute. These include Charles Ovid, a Black teen of the American South, whose body can heal any wound, and Marlowe, a boy with mysterious origins who shines with a bright, blue light. But a murderous figure made of dark smoke is chasing them, empowered by a terrifying underworld creature, determined to set the dead loose on the world by murdering children with Talents. Miro's debut has a fascinating magical system--it's rooted in the ability to manipulate dead cells, in the human body or in the air--and satisfying moments of tense suspense and frightening monsters. The characters are convincing, and readers will be quickly drawn into the narrative. While the book is long for the first in a trilogy, the unfurling of the story and the vivid cinematic quality of the world and its magic will appeal to classic-fantasy lovers. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With a 500k print run, expect lots of publicity for this fantasy debut.

Miro debuts with a sweeping historical fantasy that takes readers on an epic, continent-spanning journey, but the intricately constructed world and engaging characters don't quite make up for the plot's bleakness. When teenage Eliza, fleeing her abusive employer in Victorian England, discovers an infant glowing blue in the gloom of a freight car, she adopts the baby and names him Marlowe. The tale widens its scope with each subsequent chapter, but Marlowe remains central, as good and evil forces seek to harness his inexplicable powers. The labyrinthine plot risks becoming convoluted, but Miro retains masterful control over the details throughout. Marlowe and the diverse group of companions he accumulates--including other mysteriously powered children like him--are fascinating and easy to care about, and the prose shifts nimbly from thrilling fight scenes to quiet moments of connection. The world, however, is painfully austere, largely lacking in joy or even comfort, so much so that reading can feel like a slog despite the well-maintained pace. Still, readers who can stomach the grimness will be richly rewarded. (June)

In Victorian London, two foundling boys with unusual talents find themselves at the center of an ancient battle between the worlds of the living and the dead. Charlie Ovid is a 16-year-old mixed-race orphan in Reconstruction-era Mississippi who has been convicted of murdering a White man. So far, he has been executed three times for his crime, but in spite of the nightly beatings inflicted upon him ever since, Charlie remains physically unscathed, his uncanny healing power a mystery even to himself. Marlowe is another orphan, found as a baby gently glowing in a freight train at a dead woman's breast and raised by two adopted mother figures, the timid Eliza and the muscular, tattooed Brynt. "The shining boy," as he comes to be called, is raised in the slums of London and then as part of a sideshow act in a traveling circus crisscrossing the American heartlands. His origins, his powers, and his fate are as much mysteries to him as Charlie's cycle of suffering and healing, until they're each visited by Frank Coulton and Alice Quicke, a detective duo employed to find remarkable children like Charlie and Marlowe and bring them back to the mysterious Cairndale Institute in the far north of Scotland, where they will be protected and trained in the uses of their powers. Cairndale, a labyrinthine manor house on the shores of a dark, fathomless loch, turns out to be as full of secrets as the children themselves, and Charlie and Marlowe--along with a Japanese dustworker named Komako; Ribs, the invisible girl; and shy Oskar and the flesh giant Lymenion who sleeps under his bed--must unravel the true motives of their inscrutable guardian, Dr. Henry Berghast, before Jacob Marber, a figure of tremendous power who used to be an unusual child just like them, can tear apart the seal between the worlds of the living and the dead. A fast-paced novel whose action and intrigue make short work of its daunting page count, this tome is clearly set up to be Book 1 of a larger series. However, while the world is intricate and the characters finely drawn, there is such a sheer volume of people, plotlines, backstories, and lore being introduced that the autonomy of the novel itself suffers. Epic in scope and size, this book sets itself up for many sequels to come. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

DEBUT In Miro's historical fantasy, set in 1880s London and Edinburgh, two children are hunted by a man made of smoke and learn to harness their mysterious powers. Sixteen-year-old Charlie Ovid was much abused in his native Mississippi, yet he is still physically unscathed because his body can heal in an instant, while eight-year-old orphan Marlowe can melt a person into a puddle of flesh. Charlie and Marlowe are recovered by a flinty female detective who sets them on a path to London and the Cairndale Institute, a haven for children with strange powers that also harbors deeper, darker secrets. As Charlie, Marlowe, and the others at the Institute discover the truth, they learn that monsters can hide in plain sight. Miro's world may be too bleak for some readers, but the action and characters' connections are lights in the dark. The plot tangles are confusing, but Miro's skillful prose will lead readers through the maze. VERDICT This grim but poignant debut showcases a bleak Victorian England, engaging characters, and the desire to belong.--Kristi Chadwick