The Witch of Blackbird Pond with related readings.

    But when he returns to the site with the constable, the body is gone. Determined to reveal the truth, Shaun and his best friend, Will, open their own investigation. But what they discover is far more sinister than a mining mishap or a murder, and reveals a darkness below the surface of their small town.David Burton is the author of How to Be Happy, winner of the 2014 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing.

    For when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." -Friedrich Nietzsche The Violet Darger series continues with this gripping novella, Into the Abyss. Will Violet Darger agree to a face to face meeting with the man who shot her? Still awaiting trial, infamous serial killer Leonard Stump has hinted at the locations of additional bodies — more desert graves waiting to be uncovered. He wants to talk, but he has one condition. Violet Darger must be present at the interview. Now the pressure is on. Should Darger head to Vegas and sit down with Stump? Everyone else seems to think so. It’s a chance to close some cases and give families closure, they say. A chance to learn something crucial about the criminal mind, they say. A chance to do something good. So why does Darger feel like it’s all going to go terribly wrong?

    operation (Witness Anonymous Relocation Program). He and young FBI Agent Chevie Savano are forced to flee terrifying assassin-for-hire Albert Garrick, who pursues Riley through time and will not stop until he has hunted him down. Barely staying one step ahead, Riley and Chevie must stay alive and stop Garrick returning to his own time with knowledge and power that could change the world forever.

    And then a day came when all that changed . . . when they became our enemy.Now, anyone found harbouring a rogue imaginary person is in for the Cosh, an operation that fries your imagination and zaps whatever's in there, out of existence.That's why I wish Klaris Cliff had never shown up. And why I know that proving her innocence is the last hope I have of saving myself.Funny, quirky, and intriguing. This is a gripping read.

    She is the daughter of a Russian Count and lives in a beautiful snowbound palace that is home to a menagerie of wonderful animals: tigers, wolfhounds and, of course, horses. And she is also the owner of a beautiful heirloom – a diamond necklace with a secret past.But when Anna defies her father’s wishes and secretly raises a young colt alongside her pet tiger cub, her actions will have far reaching consequences. And soon Anna, her tiger and her horse will be fighting for survival in the frozen tundra of Siberia…An epic adventure of horses, friendship and sparkling secrets!

    I knew that if I wanted to make it to the end of the week alive, I would have to avoid upsetting Grandpa as much as possible. No singing, no playful nips, no jaunty bell.”Bird and Grandpa stay home in Massachusetts while Mother, Father, Joseph and Maya head south for a winter holiday. When Grandpa determines to set tropical Bird free in freezing February, Bird must use every bit of bird brain power to outsmart him.• Will Bird become a parrot popsicle?• What’s in the creepy second bedroom where no one ever goes?• Do Grandpa and Bird play Dig a Hole to China and Send Birdie on a Trip?In the spirit of Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, and Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, here come Bird and Grandpa in the hilarious first short story in the Grandpa Hates the Bird series!

    

    Minutes after they leave, his parents arrive home. Ben and his little sister Olive are bundled into the car and told they’re going on a holiday. But are they? It doesn’t take long for Ben to realise that his parents are in trouble. Ben’s always dreamt of becoming a detective – his dad even calls him ‘Cop’. Now Ben gathers evidence and tries to uncover what his parents have done. The problem is, if he figures it out, what does he do? Tell someone? Or keep the secret and live life on the run?

    Charlie blames their mum, for going off and leaving her and Brad and their Dad to fend for themselves. So when Brad is accused of killing a motorist with a well-aimed stone from a motorway bridge, Charlie is suspicious. It's just not Brad's style. When Charlie starts doing some investigating of her own she unearths a bigger, much worse secret, as well as discovering things about her brother, his best mate Denny, and her long-lost mother that turn her world upside down. In trying to prove her brother is not guilty, Charlie has lost her own innocence, for good...

    Eva's great desire is to go aboveground, and her wish comes true, though not as she had imagined. On the surface, Eva goes in search of other humans--she has never met one--and soon meets both friend and foe.

    Instead, I mucked around on the low rungs of the ladder, taking piecemeal work that earned me a reputation as a Ms Fixit.But when a dead police officer (don't ask) seeks my help to solve a murder, I find myself investigating a crime of paranormal proportions. A situation that's not improved when I wake one morning sprouting a set of long-desired wings—vampiric in nature.Now the dead cop's partner wants us to team up and investigate the very bats who turned me. If I don't die in the hunt for justice, I might very well perish when he stakes my "bat-daddy."I'm all for solving crime… just not at my expense. But if I don't help, who knows what the man will get up to on his lonesome? Better the devil you know than waking up one morning with a wooden splinter through the you-know-what.

    While going through her childhood bedroom, Rain discovers an old diary that reveals her mother was pregnant with her when she was her age - 16 - and tells of how scared, confused and happy she was. Rain retraces the places that her mother went with a boy with whom she falls in love.

    When he arrives at Sravanapura Palace with his director friend Rajeev Ratnam, little does he know that his life is about to change forever! Princess Kritika is overjoyed that Saketh Rao will play the role of her ancestor. But when she comes face to face with the arrogant superstar she is determined to scuttle the project.Fate, however, has different plans for them. The feisty couple is soon head over heels in love with each other. As they uncover the secrets of Hari Varman's life, Saketh makes a discovery that can rip them apart and their new-found love. Will the secrets and lies of the past deny them a future together? Or will they overcome the obstacles to true love?

    Noah's a natural on the guitar, and he'd give anything to get through the Rock War audition. But when he betrays his best friend to join another band, he knows he's crossed the line. Will he risk their friendship for the sake of musical stardom?