Candle Man: Book One The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance y Glenn Dakin 300 pages

This first book of a new fantasy series has a lot going for it: lots of dark and gloomy atmosphere, an evil guardian, a plucky heroine, Chloe and an unlikely timid and rather sickly 13 yr. old hero, Theo who has been confined and hidden from the world for most of his life. Once Theo "escapes" from his room he discovers that he is the descendant of The Candle Man, a Victorian vigilante who can melt adversaries with a single touch. This has the depth of Aiken's classic, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and is much better than the rather repetititous and superficial Unfortunate Events series. I can't wait to order the next volume: The Society of Dread!