The missing : the curious cases of Will Winchester and the Black Cross

It is 1890 and London has secrets. For sixteen-year-old Will Winchester, born Willow Winchester and raised as a young man, the safety of his own secrets rests one atop the other. Hiding his gender queerness is important, but so is hiding the ghostly voices of the Missing, which Will hears when no one else can. Until the Spiritualist Black Cross Order of Occult Occurrences wants him in their service to keep peace between London's living and dead. The freedom to be himself may come with a price. Working alongside a patchwork team of misfits and unlikely allies, Will finds he isn't the only one keeping secrets. Someone does not want him to uncover the truth about the ghosts who aren't just missing from the world of the living, but missing from history itself. Can he find the Missing before he ends up becoming one of them? "Darkness, proclivity, excess, and outlandish curiosities prevail in 1890's London. Around the city, a war rages between the living and the dead. The Black Cross, tasked to keep the peace, are quickly losing ground. A sixteen-year-old, born as Willow Winchester, lives life as a boy called "Will" in his father's house of distinguished ladies, all but invisible to the distinguished Londoners who frequent. It's an easy ruse since his mother's death left his father's attention to fall upon business matters. Hiding one's identity however, isn't nearly as important as hiding the voices of the Missing Will hears when no one is around. When one of his father's girls threatens to jump from the notorious Bridge of Sighs, Will rushes to her rescue and unwittingly becomes involved with a Black Cross ghost hunt. His supernatural skills no longer a secret; the Black Cross want him in their service. But the freedom to be himself may come with a price. Fighting alongside a band of misfits and unlikely allies, Will finds he isn't the only one keeping secrets. Someone does not want him to uncover the truth about the Missing who are not just missing from the world, but gone from history itself. Can he recover the Missing before he ends up becoming one of them?" -- Google Books