Guest Post: My Magnificent Seven Mystery Series by Robin Stevens (author of Arsenic for Tea)

I am absolutely overjoyed that today we have been joined by writer Robin Stevens, who has written a fab post for us about her favourite detective series for children. Murder Most Unladylike, Robin's first book in her Wells & Wong mystery series, was one of my favourite books of 2014, and the sequel, Arsenic for Tea, has a very good chance of making the 2015 list at the end of this year.

~~~

My Magnificent Seven Detective Series by Robin Stevens

I’m really excited to have been asked to do this – any excuse to talk about mystery stories! Here are the seven mystery series that most influenced me as a kid, and that I think will still fire children’s imaginations today.

The Famous Five

These books were my introduction to mysteries. Sure, Anne, Julian and Dick are basically dead weight (George and Timmy the dog solve everything), and sure, the mysteries pretty much involve smugglers, smugglers and smugglers, but Enid Blyton is marvellous at creating worlds and groups that you're desperate to be a part of. Kirrin Island is just possible enough to feel like an achievable fantasy – a place where it’s always the summer holidays, delicious, mysterious food like macaroons is piled up in front of you at every meal, and you get to wander around in castles and triumph over bearded, villainous men. I wanted desperately to be a child that things happened to, and the Famous Five’s was my very favourite fantasy life.

The Secret Seven

Like the Famous Five, but more densely populated. I remember, even as a child, being infuriated by how little the girls were allowed to do (especially as the boys made so many mistakes) but again, I was fascinated by the concept itself – kids, going up against adults and WINNING. I had my own secret society with my best friend (as I think most kids did) and we looked frantically for mysteries to solve. It made me really imagine that I could be a detective – if even the Secret Seven could uncover dastardly dealings, surely I could be able to as well.

Sherlock Holmes

I first read these books aged 8, so for me they're very much for children. I loved how no-holds-barred they were: people really died. The stakes were high, and the peril was real, but Sherlock was such a dashing superhero that I knew he’d always be OK. I loved how unashamedly smart he was, too – the cases rested on real information, logically assessed. And even though the stories all take place in the real world, there’s something just a bit magical about them: Sherlock goes up against vampires, ghosts and pantomime-evil villains. Basically, there’s a reason that Sherlock Holmes is the most beloved detective the world has ever seen.

Harry Potter

I'm convinced that this is really a series of mystery novels (starring Hermione Grainger) that just happens to be set in a wizard boarding school. The mystery to be solved is always quite similar, along the lines of 'and where is Voldemort hiding this time?', but although it seems simple, the answer is always wholly unexpected. Rowling is a brilliant plotter and a very clever misdirector – I remember feeling genuinely astonished the first time I read each book, and delighted that I'd found a book specifically for children that could trick me like that.

Nancy Drew

Nancy Drew may not be enormously handy in a crisis (she screams and runs away a lot), but I loved her investigative style and her taste in coats (my favourite villain, incidentally, was Carmen Sandiago, for the same reasons). I liked the idea of a detective who was clever and also glamorous (why couldn't someone be both?) and I was so jealous about how free Nancy was. She had access to cars and boats and airplanes – she had all the benefits of being grown up with none of the boring bits.

The Sally Lockhart Mysteries

For me, this series has everything. A bold, clever, sharp-shooting heroine, a Victorian setting to rival Sherlock's, magic, mystery and exactly the right sort of romance. Just like the Holmes stories, too, there’s just a hint of magical otherness – you feel that anything could happen, and it usually does. Murders, fires, thefts, curses and terrifying mechanical contraptions capable of taking over the world, it’s glorious, swashbuckling stuff.

Encyclopedia Brown

My final pick is probably much lesser known over here than it is in its native country, America. All the same, I can’t mention my favourite mystery series without including it. As a kid I was absolutely hooked (and slightly in love with Encyclopedia himself), and I read Encyclopedia’s adventures again and again and again. The joy of them is that they’re such achievable mysteries – each story is only a few pages long, and hinges on a single logic problem which the reader must work out the key to. Basically, they ask you to spot what’s wrong with a scene: perfect puzzles for aspiring detectives to cut their teeth on.

~~~

Huge thanks to Robin for taking the time to write this for The Book Zone. Murder Most Unladylike is available to buy right now and Arsenic for Tea is due to be released on 29th January.

Review: The Pirates of Pangaea by Daniel Hartwell and Neill Cameron

The year is 1717. The newly discovered island of Pangaea is the most dangerous place on Earth, where dinosaurs still walk the land - Sophie Delacourt has been sent to Pangaea to stay with her uncle. But little does she know its perils - for Pangaea is a lawless wilderness, teeming with cut-throat pirates! Kidnapped and imprisoned, Sophie must escape from the ruthless Captain Brookes and embark upon an epic journey, to find her way home.

It's nothing more than simple maths where this book is concerned:

Yes, Daniel Hartwell (no relation) and Neill Cameron's brilliant The Pirates of Pangaea, first seen in The Phoenix comic has finally been given its first collected edition, courtesy of those wonderful people at David Fickling books. Seriously, if you have kids who love comics (or kids who you would love it if they loved comics) then The Pirates of Pangaea is a must-buy book. I was a weekly purchaser of The Phoenix in its early days (and I still would be if I had kids), and although I adored the zany and madcap work of the Etherington Brothers, my favourite part of the comic by far was Hartwell and Cameron's dinosaurs and pirates mash-up.

The story follows the adventures of Sophie Delacourt, who, following the death of her parents, has been sent to live with her uncle, the governor of the remote tropical island continent of Pangaea. What Sophie doesn't realise until the voyage is almost at its end, is that Pangaea is not like the other islands she has heard of as it is still home to many species of dinosaur. 

The interior of Pangaea consists of vast areas of long grass that hide deadly predators, much the same as a quite and serene ocean may hide a school (or is it a shiver?) of vicious killer sharks. In order to travel throughout the interior, ships arriving at the port are craned onto the backs of huge sauropods, which then proceed to transport said vessels across the land. However, as this is set in the early 18th Century, there have to be pirates a plenty as well (of course), and they lie in wait for passing vessels, ready to attack with their own sauropod-mounted ships. Poor Sophie has barely made landfall when her own ship is attacked by a bloodthirsty band of cutthroats, and she is the only survivor.

Sophie is not your typical demure and retiring 18th Century young lady - she is quick to leap into the fray and the incredible creatures that inhabit Pangaea do not faze her at all. In fact, she quickly discovers that she might have a gift similar to that of a horse whisperer, something that will come in very handy as she attempts to escape captivity.

Daniel Hartwell's exciting, dinosaur-laden, swash-buckling adventure story is perfectly complemented by Neill Cameron's stunning graphic work. Neill was the talent behind the brilliant and visually stunning Mo-Bot High, but in Pirates of the Pangaea he has taken his artwork to a new level. Everything about his art in this comic is right: the sprawling Pangaea landscapes; the details of the dinosaurs and their ships; the depictions of the characters (especially the evil pirates); and the great colour palette used throughout (just feast your eyes on the image below, a promo poster that Neill Cameron produced for the launch of the comic). 

The Pirates of Pangaea is due to be published by David Fickling books on 5th February and it is well worth every penny of the £8.99 cover price. My thanks got to the wonderful people at David Fickling Books for sending me a copy to read and review.

(Pirates of Pangaea, all images and concepts ©2011 Daniel Hartwell & Neill Cameron)

Red Eye Blog Tour: My Magnificent Seven Scariest Books by Alex Bell (author of Frozen Charlotte)

And so the nightmares continue....

Yes, the Red Eye blog tour is back at The Book Zone, this time with author Alex Bell telling us about her Magnificent Seven Scariest Books. Alex is the author of Frozen Charlotte, one of the two books released this month by Red Eye, Stripes Publishing's new YA horror imprint. I've just finished Frozen Charlotte and it is very creepy and pretty terrifying on a psychological level. And if you have a phobia about porcelain dolls (which are creepy as hell at the best of times) the you certainly won't want to be reading this one at night time.


And so, over to Alex and her seven scariest books:


1. The Haunting of Toby Jugg by Dennis Wheatley - The first half of this book contains some of the best understated, unnerving horror I've ever read. You definitely feel the terror and helplessness of the main character in this one.

2. The Shining by Stephen King - I read this classic horror tale whilst staying in a very old hotel in New Orleans. As haunted hotel stories go, this has got to be one of the best. It’s a shame the topiary animals were replaced by a hedge maze in the film.

3. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James  - One of my favourite classic ghost stories – this creepy tale has an unreliable narrator and an ambiguous open ending as well as some pretty terrifying encounters in the house and the grounds.

4. This House is Haunted by John Boyne – John Boyne can write anything and excel at it. His ghost story is very much in the Dickensian tradition and contains some of the most bone-chilling scenes I’ve ever come across. A total masterpiece.

5. Florence and Giles by John Harding – I love this re-imagining of The Turn of the Screw. The language is a real treat and like nothing else you’ve ever come across before.

6. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane – Not a horror book as such but Shutter Island definitely creeped me out with its themes of paranoia, madness and self-destruction.

7. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson – Another classic ghost tale, this one definitely delivers its fair share of scares.

~~~

Huge thanks to Alex for taking the time to write this for us. The Red Eye Blog Tour is about to come to an end, so please head on over to http://reading-in-between-the-lines.blogspot.co.uk for its final stop.

Review: Arsenic For Tea (A Wells & Wong Mystery) by Robin Stevens

Schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are at Daisy's home, Fallingford, for the holidays. Daisy's glamorous mother is throwing a tea party for Daisy's birthday, and the whole family is invited, from eccentric Aunt Saskia to dashing Uncle Felix. But it soon becomes clear that this party isn't really about Daisy at all. Naturally, Daisy is furious.

Then one of their party falls seriously, mysteriously ill - and everything points to poison.

With wild storms preventing anyone from leaving, or the police from arriving, Fallingford suddenly feels like a very dangerous place to be. Not a single person present is what they seem - and everyone has a secret or two. And when someone very close to Daisy looks suspicious, the Detective Society must do everything they can to reveal the truth . . . no matter the consequences.

I loved Murder Most Unladylike, the first Wells & Wong book by Robin Stevens, so much so that it featured on my list of favourite books of 2014. And I know I'm not alone in this, as I saw it mentioned time after time when other reviewers were posting their Books of 2014 lists. I have been waiting rather impatiently for the release of the sequel, Arsenic for Tea, and it was well worth the wait. Not only is it a great sequel, but it is also a book that is even better then its predecessor.

In this second book Robin Stevens takes her pair of junior sleuths away from the confines Deepdeane, the private boarding school that was the setting for Murder Most Unladylike. Instead, the stage for this brilliant murder mystery story is Fallingford, a country mansion with obligatory sprawling grounds, and the cast a group of people with a plethora of eccentricities and foibles, most of whom just happen to be members of Daisy's family. For Fallingford is the Wells family home, and Daisy and Hazel are there for the holidays. This makes for the perfect setting for our story, and also makes it slightly more accessible than its predecessor in that there is much less use of boarding school slang that some less confident readers may have struggled with in Murder Most Unladylike. 

Daisy's fourteenth birthday is looming, and members of her family are gathering to celebrate, and what a family they are:

• Lord Hastings (Daisy's father). Disorganised, forgetful, but full of humour and loves to play practical jokes on his daughter. Much to the disdain of:
• Lady Hastings (Daisy's mother). Glamorous, snooty, vain, conceited, and possibly adulterous. If she wasn't Daisy's mother we might be wishing her to be the one to fall foul of our mystery murderer.
• Uncle Felix. Daisy's favourite uncle who just might work for the police in London in some manner or other.
• Aunt Saskia. Let's just say, don't leave your silverware lying around when Aunt Saskia's in the house ;-)
• Bertie. Daisy's exceedingly grumpy older brother.

That's the family, but then there are all kinds of others in Fallingford: Miss Alston, the girls' frumpy but enigmatic governess; the various staff of Fallingford; Stephen, Bertie's friend from school; and finally, Denis Curtis, a 'friend' of Lasy Hastings, and a complete and utter cad.

In Arsenic For Tea, Robin Stevens gives us a much deeper look at the character of Daisy Wells. As with most kids who are domineering and brash, there is a very good reason for it, and in Daisy's case it is to hide a girl whose family life is not quite as perfect as she would have anyone on the outside expect. There are obvious tensions between the jocular Lord Hastings and his overbearing and far more glamorous wife, and it is repeatedly suggested that Lady Hastings has a habit of straying from the marital path. However, although this is obvious to all and sundry, Daisy acts as if everything is perfect in her life. In addition, Falligford has obviously seen better days, and therefore funds are not as plentiful as they may have been in the past.

And then there is Hazel, Daisy Wells's very own Watson. Hazel could so easily be the quiet little mouse who acquiesces to every single demand her pushy friend throws at her, but as we saw in Murder Most Unladylike, Hazel is much more than just a hanger on in the Detective Society. It is easy to forget that back in the 1930s, multicultural Britain did not exist as it does today, and casual (and more overt) racism was rife (this being one of the main criticisms of Enid Blyton's work in this modern age), especially amongst the upper classes. Just as Hazel feels like she is fitting in, she is reminded that she is different to those around her. We might expect it from the undiplomatic Aunt Saskia: "there seems to be an ORIENTAL in your hall" she proclaims as she meets Hazel for the first time, but even the lovely Lord Hastings can't help it: "How are you? Who are you? You don't look like Daisy's friends usually do. Are you English?" Somehow Daisy seems to be able to rise above this and there are moments when, observing the tatty state of Fallingford and its relatively meagre compliment of staff, that Hazel realises how much better off her family is, back in Hong Kong.

Arsenic For Tea can be read as a standalone mystery but I would implore you to start with Murder Most Unladylike if for some unfathomable reason you or your children have not yet stumbled across the Wells and Wong Mysteries, as there are several mentions of the previous mystery in this book (although not enough to spoil the plot of MMU). We are in for a real treat this year, as there is another Wells & Wong Mystery scheduled to be published in July of this year. Titled First Class Murder, it's only blimmin' set on the ORIENT EXPRESS! I can't wait!

Arsenic For Tea is due to be published on 29th January and my thanks go to the wonderful Harriet Venn at Random House for sending me a copy to read. You can read more about Robin Stevens and her books at http://robin-stevens.co.uk/

Review: Big Game by Dan Smith

13-year-old Oskari is sent into the cold wilderness on an ancient test of manhood. He must survive armed only with a bow and arrow. But instead, he stumbles upon an escape pod from a burning airliner: Air Force One. Terrorists have shot down the President of the United States. The boy hunter and the world's most powerful man are suddenly the hunted, in a race against a deadly enemy.

A handy indicator of how much I enjoy a book is if it has me reading well into the night, on a 'school night' when I am already feeling very tired. This doesn't necessarily apply to every book that I totally loved, but it does apply to Dan Smith's Big Game. It is as if Dan Smith has delved into my DVD collection, and then used his findings to write a book that was guaranteed to appeal to me and kids around the world who have a hunger for cracking action stories.

The story behind Dan Smith's writing of Big Game is a little different from most of the books I have read in recent years. From what I can make out, Chicken House supremo Barry Cunningham acquired the rights to publish a book based on the screenplay of a Finnish/British produced film, and then asked Smith is he would write a book based on that script. Unlike many books based on films, it was not to be a direct novelisation of the movie, but was instead to be a book that would stand as a great action novel in its own right, and this is one of the reason why it works so well. Don't get me wrong, movie novelisations are a great way to engage boys with reading, and I read loads of them when I was a young reader, but too often they come across as second rate to the film and are simply the film translated into words on paper. However, for Big Game to be second rate to the film, then it is going to have to be one damn great film indeed (ok, so it has Samuel L. Jackson in it does have something of a head start).

Big Game is like White House Down or Olympus Has Fallen (don't judge me too harshly for loving both of these films), but set in the wilds of Finland (although I believe that technically Air Force One is the White House when the US President is on board), and instead of Channing Tatum or Gerard Butler stepping in to kick terrorist butt and rescue the President, enter 13-year-old Oskari, possibly the most unlikely hero of all. Tradition has it that in Oskari's society a boy must prove himself in order to be considered a man at the age of 13. Oskari must therefore venture out into the wilds on the eve of his thirteenth birthday and return the following day with a trophy, i.e. the head of a creature he has hunted and killed himself. 

Unfortunately Oskari is small and not particularly strong - he cannot even pull back the string of the huge bow that tradition dictates he must use to make the kill. It is with a great fear of shaming his hunter father that he sets off into the Finnish forest alone, but with the hope that he will somehow be successful and return with a trophy of which he can be proud. However, his hopes and plans are dashed when terrorists bring down Air Force One and Oskari, barely surviving being killed by the cataclysmic crash, stumbles across an escape pod containing the US President. Oskari's quest to become a man suddenly becomes a race for survivial, with all the odds stacked against him.

Big Game could be added to the dictionary as the definition of 'edge of your seat thriller'. The short chapters and fast-paced and relentless action make it one of those books that is incredibly difficult to put down, as I discovered when I was still reading it at midnight, desperate to find out whether Oskari and the President would escape from their hunters. Yes, I imagine that the film is probably one of those action-by-numbers films that some sniff at but others (like me) can't get enough of, and those same detractors will probably turn those sniffy noses up at this book, but it is the perfect book for middle grade readers who love action and adventure stories, and Oskari is a brilliant character with whom many young readers will empathise.

Big Game was published in the UK on 1st January and my thanks go to the fab people at Chicken House for sending me a copy.

Book Trailer: The Dreamsnatcher by Abi Elphinstone

Here it is, as promised in my review of The Dreamsnatcher by Abi Elphinstone that I posted yesterday evening. I find book trailers can be a little hit and miss, but this one is spot on perfect and captures the magical feel of the book perfectly. Just seeing Moll and wildcat Gryff in live action made me want to read the book all over again. Needless to say, I was overjoyed when Abi asked me if I wanted to take part in a special blogger reveal of the trailer, following its premier on the Guardian website this morning.

The Dreamsnatcher is due to be released on 26th february.

Review: The Dreamsnatcher by Abi Elphinstone

Twelve-year-old Molly Pecksniff wakes one night in the middle of the forest, lured there by a recurring nightmare - the one with the drums and the rattles and the masks. The Dreamsnatcher is waiting. He has already taken her dreams and now he wants her life. Because Moll is more important than she knows...The Oracle Bones foretold that she and Gryff, a wildcat that has always been by her side, are the only ones who can fight back against the Dreamsnatcher's dark magic. Suddenly everything is at stake, and Moll is drawn into a world full of secrets, magic and adventure.

If you read my Books of 2014 post from a couple of weeks ago then you will already know that this is going to be something of a glowing review. In fact, I really wanted to post a review sooner, but every time I've sat down to write it my mind goes blank and I can't come up with the right words. In the time I have been writing this blog there have been a handful of books that have made me feel small and inferior, with every sentence I write sounding clumsy and amateurish, and The Dreamsnatcher is another one to add to this somewhat exclusive list.

The book tells the story of Moll, an orphan girl who has grown up under the protection of Oak, the formidable leader of a gypsy camp. As such she has a rather large extended adopted family, some of whom accept her as one of their own unreservedly, whilst others still fel that there is something about Moll that doesn't quite fit in. This is especially the case with the other girls in the camp, as Moll would much rather be running riot in the forest, getting dirty whilst having all kinds of fun adventures.

Oak isn't Moll's only protector though. Always lurking on the fringes of the camp, and tracking her through the forest, is her beloved Gryff, a wildcat that just appeared one day, as if he was destined to be by her side. The relationship between Moll and Gryff is a magical one, and it grows even stronger throughout the book as the evil forces in the forest attempt time and again to capture Moll for their own despicable purposes. Publishers Simon and Schuster claim on the back of the proof copy I received that "Moll's relationship with Gryff has a strong Pullman-esque quality". By this I am guessing they are drawing parallels with Lyra's bond with her dæmon Pantalaimon. However, in my opinion Moll and Gryff's relationship is far more like that between Torak and his wolf companion in Michelle Paver's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. I must state though that I'm basing this on only so far having read Wolf Brother, the first book in that series, which I read at the end of 2014 (funnily enough, after Abi Elphinstone herself had waxed lyrical about the series on Twitter. I loved it and now need to find the time to read the rest in the series).

Moll is a fabulous character and she has already been added to my personal pantheon of great young female characters in books. It is great to see yet another middle grade book that is high on the action and adventure front, with a strong, courageous female character who can hold her own, especially  in the somewhat patriarchal society that is the gypsy camp. Moll is totally impulsive and headstrong, often doing things that she has been forbidden from doing, but she has an irresistible charm that makes her very difficult to tell off. She is the kind of kid that would be a nightmare to teach at school, as she would always be up to mischief, but would blag her way out of trouble with a disarming grin and a string of ridiculous excuses.

The darkness to Moll's light comes in the form of Skull, a witchdoctor and leader of a 'rival' group of gypsies that live in the same forest. Skull is evil personified and ranks up there amongst some of the all-time great villains of middle grade fiction. However, whereas in many of those books it is the villain that makes the piece so memorable, somehow Abi Elphinstone has managed to make the character of Moll so strong and memorable that she eclipses Skull's character completely. This is certainly no Luke Skywalker being overshadowed by Darth Vader moment!

The Dreamsnatcher is a classic tale of good versus evil, as well as being a story about friendship, trust and loyalty. The "is it our world with magic in it or is it a fantasy world?" setting that the author has created is a joy to read, as are the various members of this wonderful community of gypsies that will do whatever it takes to protect one their own. There is so much more I want to say about this story and its characters and its magic but I think it is one of those books that will be most enjoyed with as little prior knowledge of the story as possible. 

I've already mentioned this in a tweet I made shortly after finishing The Dreamsnatcher, but I feel it needs to be repeated here: on the back of that proof copy I received Simon and Schuster also bill Abi Elphinstone as 'a phenomenal new middle grade talent' & based on this wonderful debut I would have to agree. Come back here tomorrow to see the magical book trailer that has been produced for The Dreamsnatcher. I saw it for the first time yesterday and it is amazing how much it brings Moll and Gryff to life. So much so that it left me wanting to read the book again.

The Dreamsnatcher is due to be published in the UK on 26th February and my thanks go to Abi Elphinstone for sending me a copy to read.

Review: Bloodstone by Allan Boroughs

Apprenticed to notorious tech-hunter Verity Brown, India Bentley has spent the last year travelling the globe, finding and selling long-lost technology and doing her best to stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, trouble has a habit of finding her.

Accused of an assassination attempt and thrown in jail, India is rescued by scientist-adventurer Professor Moon: a man obsessed with finding the Bloodstone; key to a source of unlimited energy hidden in the lost city of Atlantis. Now Moon wants India and Verity to join his quest.

Pursued by gangsters, lumbered with a stowaway and haunted by the ghosts of her past, India must risk everything to uncover Atlantis's secrets. But the truth comes at a price.

Allan Boroughs's debut novel, Ironheart, was one of my favourite books of 2014 and, having read it back in February I spent a lot of last year desperate to read the sequel, Bloodstone. As someone who has become rather jaded with post-apocalyptic/dystopian stories in recent years, I felt that Boroughs brought a freshness to the genre with his old school adventure story. I think also the fact this is firmly in Middle Grade territory and therefore does not contain the doom and gloom of a lot of dystopian YA contributed to my love of the story. If If you hadn't already worked it out from my blogging and tweeting last year I'm more than a little fed up with dark YA, but I simply cannot get enough of exciting Middle Grade adventure stories like this.

So, did Bloodstone meet up to the high expectations I had following Ironheart? Absolutely, and then some. It's hard to compare a a sequel to the original when nine months or so has passed between reading the first book, but I am confident in saying that Bloodstone is even better than its predecessor. This is mainly because it benefits from the main characters and their post-apocalyptic world already having been established in Ironheart, so now the author gets to have as much fun as is humanly possible with his creations.

Bloodstone picks up more than a year after the conclusion of Ironheart. India Bentley has been accompanying her mentor, Verity Brown, on her tech-hunting adventures and a potentially highly profitable find has them travelling to Sing City, the tech-hunting capital of the world. It's not a particularly pleasant place, and if you were hunting for a "more wretched hive of scum and villainy" than Mos Eisley, then Sing City would probably fit the bill. Of course, every wretched hive needs its kingpin, or in this case queenpin, and the Aunt Entity of Sing City is the merciless Lady Fang (she collects human eyeballs... 'nuff said). 

Verity and India's trading plans do not go as smoothly as they would have hoped, and it isn't long before India finds herself up to her neck in trouble, and on the run from Lady Fang and her goons, and also from a group of mad monks who have taken it on themselves to make recycling old rubbish central to their dogma. However, with a little help from a handful of new characters India finds herself fleeing towards Antarctica in search of  parts of the Bloodstone, which legend has it will give the wielder incredible power when complete.

I've had the good fortune to meet Allan Boroughs since I read Ironheart, although for some reason we didn't spend any time discussing influences and inspirations. However, if I were a betting man I would happily wager that Allan and I have a lot of these in common. Indiana Jones, the works of Jules Verne, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, Star Wars, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (a film that holds a special place in my heart as I think it is the first film I can remember seeing at the cinema, although that honour may belong to Star Wars: A New Hope?)... tropes used in all of these and many other films/books are present in Bloodstone, whether intentionally or not, and together they make for a fast-paced thrilling joyride of a story that I think many 9+ year olds (and many much older) will love.

Bloodstone was published on 1st January and my thanks go to the fab people at Macmillan for sending me a copy to read/review. Watch this space for reviews of more fab Middle Grade books from Macmillan as it looks like they might be ruling the MG roost in the UK in 2015.

Red Eye Blog Tour: My Life That Books Built by Lou Morgan (author of Sleepless)

Today sees the publication of Sleepless by Lou Morgan and Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell, the first two titles from Red Eye, Stripes Publishing's brand new YA horror imprint. Over the next fortnight Lou and Alex will be stopping by at a plethora of blogs to tell us more about themselves and their books.

Although these days I seem to be reading more Middle Grade than YA, for some time I have been bemoaning the lack of good YA horror and thus I was excited when I first read that Stripes were launching Red Eye. I have not yet read Frozen Charlotte, but I really enjoyed Sleepless. It is an incredibly creepy story which also contains some particularly gruesome deaths for its characters. It therefore hits the spot for both kinds of horror lovers - those who love psychological creeps and chills, and those who love a healthy(?) dose of blood splatter. I am therefore honoured to be hosting Lou on the first day of the Red Eye:

My Life That Books Built

I can't remember a time when I didn't have too many books. Growing up, I had too many to fit in my bedroom. At college, I lugged boxes and boxes of them up to my tiny third-floor room in my hall of residence - and I have one friend in particular who swore he was never, ever helping me move again after he spent a Saturday carrying crates of them from a van up to my new flat. (It's not like there wasn't a lift - was it, Matthew?)

I read books on the school bus every day, and I read them in the yard at break time. I always overpack them when I go on holiday, and I've been known to put a spare book in my bag when I catch the train in to London for the day from Bath. Just in case I run out of book before I get home. Because that might happen.

Books, you could say, are old friends - and a few of them have made more of an impact over the years than others.

One of the first books I ever really loved - the one I wanted to talk to everyone about (and which, devastatingly, none of my friends had read) was Alfred Hitchcock's Witch's Brew. It was only a little thing - a collection of short stories by people whose names meant nothing to me at the time, but looking at the contents page in that same copy, there's Shirley Jackson, and there's TH White and Joan Aiken… and Robert Bloch's "That Hell-Bound Train."  That was the one that did it: the story of Martin, a man down on his luck and riding the railroads of America, who is stopped one night by a decidedly sinister train conductor and given a watch that can supposedly pause time. The catch is that if he never uses the watch, when the time comes, he will have to ride the train.

Over the years, the book got packed away and I forgot the name of the story - and even who wrote it - but I never forgot the story. After my mother died a couple of years ago, I was sorting through her things and found a box of books. My books. And there was the little blue Puffin paperback… and there was "That Hell-Bound Train".

I must have been about 11 when I read The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper for the first time, and I fell completely in love with the world. I don't think I ever managed to read the whole of the series, but that book in particular has never gone away… and I think about it every time it snows.

In my early teens, I found a book in the SF & fantasy section of the library in town. It had a black cover with what looked like a drop of water in the middle, and if I'm honest, I probably took it home because I thought the cover was cool (and, naturally, that I would look cool reading it on the bus. I said I've always loved books - I never said I wasn't shallow…). That was Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith - and that was the book that made me want to be a writer. I finished it and thought, "I want to do what that book just did to me." I could try to describe the plot, but I'm pretty sure I'd just end up waving my hands around and saying, "… and it's all just, like, awesome."

We take something from every book we love, I think: every book changes us just a little. These three, though, they made a big difference. The Hitchcock-horror book - and "That Hell-Bound Train" in particular - showed me that sometimes, the shortest stories cast the longest shadows. The Dark is Rising dropped me into a world I was desperate to visit: I would have given anything to be able to step into that book. I still would - and I still am. And Only Forward was the book that flipped a switch somewhere in my head: the book that had a voice I couldn't ignore. Every book I've ever read has built me, but these three are the foundations.

~~~

Huge thanks to Lou for stopping by to tell us about the books that meant a lot to her when she was younger. Tomorrow the Red Eye blog tour continues at http://www.flutteringbutterflies.com, and please come back here on Sunday 18th January when Alex Bell will be here telling us about her Magnificent Seven Scariest Books.