Books

REVISING
Owls are the only creatures that can live with ghosts -Traditional Orkney Lore

Luna and Aurora are twins, as different as night and day, the moon and the sun. They are drifting apart … until the witch comes for one of them.

When Luna accompanies her family to Orkney to pack up Gran’s ancient cottage overlooking the lore-laden island of Eynhallow, strange things begin to happen, especially to her twin sister. Aurora is followed by owls, tormented by frightening dreams, and talks of “a woman with evil eyes”. Luna discovers her grandmother has awoken an ancient and malevolent presence, the spirit of a powerful weather witch. Perhaps Gran’s death was no accident after all.

Each day, the ghost grows in power, sucking the life force from Aurora, seeking to return to the world. Luna must work with local magic-weavers to try to discover the identity of the malevolent witch and find a way to banish it back into the spirit world, before its hold over her sister becomes complete. But the old magic is lost and the witch is growing mad with guilt and a thirst for revenge. The witch who is now inside Aurora.

The Witch of Eynhallow Sound is a chilling MG Ghost Story. If you enjoyed the spine-tingling tension and spooky settings of Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces and the Aveline Jones series, this book is for you (once it gets out into the world). It is a creepy, bewitching story perfect for Halloween.

QUERYING

An unsolved murder, a coded message, three hidden treasures. And always a step ahead … the Ghost.

CURSED BE HE WHO SLAYS A RAVEN

Welcome to Ravenspur, a grim Scottish castle with a vast collection of weird and wonderful curiosities, a secret underground tunnel, three hidden treasures, an ancient curse and several ghosts.

Ella Lee and Lachie, the new young Raven laird, must solve cryptic clues left by Lachie’s dead father to locate the mysterious treasures hidden somewhere in the castle.

These treasures appear to have cost Lachie’s father his life, and Ella’s his freedom. However, somebody else is searching too, roaming the castle at night disguised as the raven-faced ghost of family legend. Somebody who murdered Lachie’s father.

Ella and Lachie are drawn into a dangerous contest with the increasingly ruthless Ghost, who always seems to be a step ahead of them. And time is running out.

Perfect for fans of The Jules Verne Prophecy, The Guggenheim Mystery and The Clockwork Conspiracy. If you love novels with spooky Gothic settings and dangerous quests like Wormwood Mire and Frost Hollow Hall, you will devour The Secret of Ravenspur Castle, once it is out into the world.

For the Rowbottom cousins, birthday gifts inevitably lead to real-life historical mysteries, adventures in far-flung places, legendary lost treasures - and bucketloads of trouble.

Thirteen-year-old Olivia Rowbottom (Ollie) thinks she’s a pirate and longs for swashbuckling adventures.

Her younger sister Cassiopeia (Cassie) is a genius at solving codes, ciphers and puzzles of all kinds. She often talks in riddles, which are far too complicated for anyone else to understand.

Their cousin Dorrigo’s heroes are Charles Darwin, Sir David Attenborough and Steve Irwin. He is the only Rowbottom who uses his full name as shortened versions are not suitable for someone destined to become the world’s greatest biologist.

With memorable characters, exotic locations, page-turning suspense and a plucky female protagonist who thinks she’s a pirate, this series will sweep readers onto a roller coaster of a ride that will keep them on the edge of their seats.

Each story involves a famous unsolved mystery and real locations.

Middle grade readers who like stories with a puzzle to solve will devour this series. It is perfect for fans of Charlie Thorne, The Hunt for the Golden Scarab, and The Clockwork Conspiracy.

UNPUBLISHED

Book 1: The Pirate’s Lost Cipher

Ollie’s thirteenth birthday present is an extremely old metal chest her mother found in an antique shop in Paris. It contains a few gold coins, a dagger, a spyglass, a bottle that has something inside, a wishbone broken in two, a necklace, and a letter written in some strange language or code. And so the fun begins! With the help of her sister’s special interest in codes and ciphers, and her cousin’s encyclopaedic knowledge of living creatures, the family sets out on a quest for a long-lost treasure – an extremely dangerous quest as things turn out.


Book 2: The Curse of the Hidden Labyrinth

Cassie’s special present – a deck of antique tarot cards, takes the family to Prague where secrets linger and the quest for the Philosopher’s Stone is still very much alive in some quarters. When one of their own is kidnapped, the family is drawn into a deadly race against time and a ruthless opponent.


Book 3: Island of Thieves and Dragons

Dorrigo’s birthday gift is a family trip to the Galápagos Islands and the Rowbottoms are secretly breathing a sigh of relief, looking forward to a leisurely holiday. However, they soon find themselves caught up in the activities of animal smugglers, people who will stop at nothing to protect their illegal and lucrative trade.