<p>''Historical fiction with a fantastical twist, done with verve and skill'' <b>IAN RANKIN</b><br>''An atmospheric and constantly surprising thriller'' <b><i>SUNDAY TIMES</i></b><br>''Kept me guessing until the end. An absolute masterpiece'' <b>JENNIFER SAINT</b><br>''A deliciously dark historical novel of thrilling originality'' <b>ESSIE FOX</b><br>''Spellbinding, gripping, immersive and deliciously gothic'' <b>ERIN KELLY</b><br>''Evocative, chilling, compelling'' <b>TAMMY COHEN</b><br>''Breathtakingly good'' <b>ABIR MUKHERJEE</b><br><br><b><h2>Paris, 1750.</h2></b><br><br>In the midst of an icy winter, as birds fall frozen from the sky, chambermaid Madeleine Chastel arrives at the home of the city''s celebrated clockmaker and his clever, unworldly daughter.<br><br>Madeleine is hiding a dark past, and a dangerous purpose: to discover the truth of the clockmaker''s experiments and record his every move, in exchange for her own chance of freedom.<br><br>For as children quietly vanish f