Venice private investigator Victor Getz thinks it’s just business as usual when he takes on a case, to find a pair of runaway children who’ve come to Venice, expecting it to be the magical city of the stories their dead mother once told them. Two lost children in a city like Venice, whose passageways and canals and abandoned buildings harbor thousands of hiding spots? Maybe a little tricky, but he’s up for the challenge.

Meanwhile, Prosper and Bo, who ran away from their selfishly cruel aunt and uncle after learning they were to be separated, with Prosper sent away to school, have fallen in with a group of street urchins, who play at being pickpockets and thieves, led by the mysterious Thief Lord, a child himself. When the Thief Lord receives an unusual and highly lucrative commission to steal a valuable antique, he and his band of followers soon learn they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. Because the item in question is the key to a strange artifact which can turn back old age itself, and certain people will do anything for it. They’ll have to rely on the dubious help of Victor Getz if they want to survive this adventure and evade Prosper and Bo’s relatives, as well as get the better of their enemies.

The first novel from best-selling German author Cornelia Funke is a magical tale of youth and adventure, moving along at a brisk pace with stunning characterization. The fantasy aspects of this story are subtle until near the end, at which point it all comes together for an unexpected set of resolutions. Much of the magic comes from the stylized, fascinating portrayal of Venice as the setting, and the spirit of the children who serve as the main protagonists. This is a book worth checking out.