Book excerpt: Pull back the curtain and enter a world where mystery and magic take centre stage . . . Twelve-year-old Tig works at the Theatre Royale, cleaning, selling tickets and doing anything else that is asked of her by her tyrannical boss, Mr Snell. But Tig will do whatever it takes to get closer to her dream – to become a Stage Manager and spend her days inventing new ways to imagine and build the intricate machinery and props that bring the exciting productions to life! But when a strange new act – a talking machine – arrives at the Theatre Royale, it moves and behaves in a way that Tig just can’t work out. It’s as though it’s alive somehow . . . And when the machine appears to be hiding a dangerous secret, Tig must race against time to solve the mystery, before everything and everyone she cares about is lost forever. A gloriously gothic adventure from an original new voice in middle-grade. A gloriously gothic adventure with a magical twist from an original new voice in middle-grade. Perfect for fans of Michelle Harrison, Sophie Anderson and Emma Carroll. Praise for Jenni Spangler’s debut novel, THE VANISHING TRICK: A thrilling, original, evocative and eerie tale - I adored it!’ Michelle Harrison, author of A Pinch of Magic 'A thrilling page-turner. Madame Pinchbeck is a gloriously Dickensian villain’ Abi Elphinstone, author of Sky Song 'Ghosts, gadgets, likeable villains and unlikely heroes: The Vanishing Trick is a dark and dazzling adventure’ Emma Carroll, author of Letters from the Lighthouse 'A completely enthralling tale, oozing with atmosphere and originality’ Catherine Doyle, author of The Storm Keeper's Island