Younger brother of a talented witch, Cat [the protagonist of Charmed Life] seems to be the only guy on the block—and, later, the only resident of the strange castle to which the two orphaned children are transported—who can't do magic. For a while after their move, Sister Gwendolen raises all sorts of supernatural hell in protest against her less-than-fawning treatment at the hands of Chrestomanci, the aristocratic lord of the castle…. [After] Gwendolen's disappearance, Cat learns that he is one of a very rare breed of nine-lived enchanters, that his special gifts have marked him as a future Chrestomanci, and that Gwendolen has been using his powers all along to perform her wicked tricks. Jones' talents are slighted in a synopsis, for she writes with exceptional finesse—whether establishing the atmosphere of the castle, orchestrating large confrontations, or filling in the domestic scene with vital incidentals...