The book is about, among other things: the strongest boy in the world, a talking cockatoo, a faulty mind reader, a beautiful bearded lady and a nervous magician, an old museum, and a shrunken head. Blessed with extraordinary abilities, orphans Philippa, Sam, and Thomas have grown up happily in Dumfrey's Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders. Philippa is a powerful mentalist, Sam is the world's strongest boy, and Thomas can squeeze himself into a space no bigger than a bread box. The children live happily with museum owner Mr. Dumfrey, alongside other misfits. But when a fourth child, Max, a knife-thrower, joins the group, it sets off an unforgettable chain of events. When the museum's Amazonian shrunken head is stolen, the four are determined to get it back. But their search leads them to a series of murders and an explosive secret about their pasts.

Four extraordinary children must avenge their friend's death, try to save their home, and unravel the secrets of their past . . . before their past unravels them. Pippa, Sam, Thomas, and Max are happy to be out of harm's way now that the notorious villain Nicholas Rattigan is halfway across the country in Chicago. But unfortunately their home, Dumfreys's Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders, is in danger of closing its doors forever. But their troubles only get worse. The four friends are shocked when their beloved friend, famous sculptor Siegfried Eckleberger, is murdered. As they investigate, they find clues that his death may be tied to the murder of a rich and powerful New York heiress, as well as to their own pasts.

In this third book in the exceptional Curiosity House mystery series by bestselling author Lauren Oliver and mysterious recluse H. C. Chester, four children must uncover the evil Nicholas Rattigan's newest dastardly scheme, wage war with a rival freak show, and deal with a spy who may have infiltrated their happy home.

Sam, Philippa, Thomas, and Max have just started to recover from their capture and subsequent escape from Rattigan. But the children's lives don't stay quiet for long.

A slew of bank robberies is terrorizing the city. And when Professor Farnum, the ringmaster of the museum's now immensely popular flea circus, is charged with murder, the search for the real killer uncovers a plot much bigger than any individual crime-a plot that can only be the work of Nicholas Rattigan.

In this third book in the exceptional Curiosity House mystery series by bestselling author Lauren Oliver and mysterious recluse H. C. Chester, four children must uncover the evil Nicholas Rattigan's newest dastardly scheme, wage war with a rival freak show, and deal with a spy who may have infiltrated their happy home.

Sam, Philippa, Thomas, and Max have just started to recover from their capture and subsequent escape from Rattigan. But the children's lives don't stay quiet for long.

A slew of bank robberies is terrorizing the city. And when Professor Farnum, the ringmaster of the museum's now immensely popular flea circus, is charged with murder, the search for the real killer uncovers a plot much bigger than any individual crime-a plot that can only be the work of Nicholas Rattigan.