Poof! Pages missing from some copies of new "Harry Potter"

A handful of Seattle-area Harry Potter fans discovered an unwelcome plot twist hidden in the pages of his final adventure — a set of pages missing from the much-anticipated book.

Scholastic Inc., the U.S. publisher of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," has received a few hundred reports nationwide of books with missing pages since it went on sale Saturday.

A spot check of 10 Seattle-area bookstores Wednesday found two that had heard from a single customer each with a faulty book.

QFC grocery stores reported fewer than 10 customer complaints across its 77 stores in Western Washington and Portland. Fred Meyer stores had received no customer complaints. In each case, stores were exchanging defective books for new copies.

QFC spokeswoman Kristin Maas said in several cases, it appeared to be a section of 32 pages that was missing near the end of the book, the last installment of author J.K. Rowling's wildly popular series.

"I was talking to [a customer] who said it was the middle of a battle scene, and then he flipped to the next page, and it's over," she said.

Other reports say the missing pages are in different sections of the book or that some pages are duplicated. Some wonder whether more reports will emerge as fans delve deeper into the 759-page book.

A discussion board on eBay featured four reports of books with missing pages — and a debate about whether they would be worth more on eBay as a result. (Most people posting on the forum said no.)

Scholastic spokeswoman Sara Sinek said it's not uncommon for a small number of printing errors to slip through on an initial press run, a sentiment echoed at several local bookstores.

"It's a small number of books compared to the 12 million copies we printed in the U.S.," Sinek said. "A few hundred is really nothing to be concerned about."

Unless you're the reader left in the lurch in the middle of the battle scene.

Readers with defective books should return them to the store where they were purchased to exchange them. Or contact Scholastic customer service: 800-724-6527.

Jolayne Houtz: 206-464-3122 or jhoutz@seattletimes.com