"Bachmann's writing is as polished as in his earlier books-the violence is fittingly gruesome, the decadent and mazelike palace is gorgeously described, and Anouk has an engagingly snarky narrative voice." -- Publishers Weekly "Bachmann keeps the pages turning with this thriller...The peculiar circumstances add to the strange atmosphere and also to the suspense, lending the book an appealing, unworldly quality. When the explanation finally arrives, it fits quite well with the odd atmosphere. Bizarre and hugely suspenseful." -- Kirkus Reviews "Anouk's and Aurelie's stories skillfully mirror each other and are engaging...it is certain to please those who demand constant action blended with their historical fiction." -- Booklist "The sadistic house of horrors is fantastically drawn...readers looking for a scare for scare's sake will revel in the grotesqueness and cheer when Anouk and company take down their captors for a satisfying end." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Stefan Bachmann is the author of the internationally bestselling novel The Peculiar and its acclaimed sequel, The Whatnot. He was born in Colorado, spent most of his childhood in Switzerland, and is now studying modern music at the Zurich University of the Arts. When he's not writing, he can be found traveling to someplace chilly, or holed up beneath his college in the dimly lit labyrinth of practice rooms, which may have inspired the subterranean scenes in A Drop of Night. That ... and the Paris catacombs, a weird dream about a golden corridor, and a general interest in history.