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Updated November 21, 2003
Skullduggery, by Kathleen Karr (Junior/Young Adult)
Matthew Morrissey has been orphaned by a cholera epidemic that has swept through New York. As he looks for a job he comes across an ad placed by Dr. ABC for an assistant. After passing out during his interview, he is fed and subsequently hired by Dr. A.B. Cornwall a phrenologist, a specialist in the skull. He believes examining the pertinent areas of the cranium can discover a person’s character. His office is studded with busts of famous people and skulls. As his assistant, Matthew attends his consultations with “patients” seeking to be analyzed. His specimens for research however are gathered late at night in dark and deserted cemeteries. When someone takes a violent interest in their affairs Matthew begins to wonder which skulls they are after, the dead ones or theirs.