The Moonlighters: A magical new story from the bestselling author of The Last Firefox

by Lee Newbery

Peter Pan meets Oliver Twist in the magical new book by rising star Lee Newbery, author of Waterstones Children's Book of the Month, The Last Firefox.

When ten-year-old Theo runs off from a school trip to London's Natural History Museum and decides to pay his gran a surprise visit, he discovers the surprise is on him - his gran is on holiday and Theo finds himself alone in the big city with nowhere to turn.

Enter Alistair Goodfellow, a mysterious, flamboyant young person with a charismatic twinkle in their eye. Alistair offers Theo a room at the Casablanca Lily - by day, a run-down and unloved hotel; by night, a palace of magical wonders.

Each night, Alistair sends his found family of runaways and ne'er-do-wells, the Moonlighters, out into London in search of lost magical artefacts, gifting them their own magical powers as a reward.

Theo is quickly enthralled, but there is more to Alistair than meets the eye, and soon Theo comes to realize that the items Alistair is hunting could be more dangerous than he'd ever imagined . . .

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy

367 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2025

Reviews

[Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another magical adventure from the amazing Lee Newbery.
I absolutely loved Alistair and Theo. The Moonlighters were very sweet characters too. A lot of depth in the characters and the plot.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable story for children up to mid-grade, about 10 year old Theo who gets in trouble when on a trip to the Natural History Museum, where he accidentally destroys an exhibit. He's recently moved home against his will and fallen in with the wrong crowd in school. Running away from the situation he has a magical encounter with a mysterious character who inducts him into a secret group of children, called the Moonlighters, searching for magical artefacts.

However there are good guys and bad guys, and someone has some very evil designs. Ultimately it will be up to Theo and his new friends to defend the world from these.

This is an enjoyable book that is really for its intended audience primarily and is aimed at too young a readership to include much nuance. All the same, it is a fine example of a children's story that should have enduring appeal, and rehearses the age old conflicts found in the genre. Lee Newbery is a fine writer of such tales.

Note that I mark it 4 stars because that's how I think I would have felt about it as a child. For adult me this is a book I liked, but not one I would go back to. So it's 3 star, but it seems unfair to rate it that way on Goodreads.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book from this author! Funny and heartwarming with a touch of peril. I really hope this is a series and can’t wait to find out what the Moonlighters get up to next!

[Geckos Class · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and fun to read

[rachel x]

"Peter Pan meets Oliver Twist in the magical new book"