Title Page

Copyright Notice

The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied so that you can enjoy reading it on your personal devices. This e-book is for your personal use only. You may not print or post this e-book, or make this e-book publicly available in any way. You may not copy, reproduce, or upload this e-book, other than to read it on one of your personal devices.

Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy.

Dedication

For Angeline and her father

For Seattle

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

It feels strange knowing that The Inexplicables will probably be the last book I write in Seattle. I won’t say “absolutely the last” because one never knows, and it’s not like I’m planning to run away and never look back; but as you may or may not know, my husband and I bought a house in Tennessee … and by the time you read this, we will be living in Chattanooga (once again).

We lived in Seattle for six years, and in many ways, the city was very, very kind to me. It gave me Boneshaker, after all—as well as the subsequent books in the Clockwork Century series. None of these stories would’ve ever happened if I hadn’t come out West in 2006, so I will always be grateful for my time here.

Thank you, Seattle. You gave me more than I deserved, and I was not always gracious about it. I hope I’ve done you proud with these stories. They are a song of appreciation.

So. Yes.

When it comes to more specific thanks, I scarcely know where to begin. But this time, I’ll save the usual suspects for the end and start with the local crew.

Thanks of the highest order go to the bookstore folks: Duane Wilkins, plus Caitlin and Art, and everyone else at the University Book Store; Steve Winter and Vlad Verano at Third Place Books; and all the kind people at the Seattle Mystery Book Store, who have carried a torch for my Eden books (much to my continued delight).