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The House on the Edge by Alex Cotter

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cover illustration by Kathrin Honesta

ACHUKA Book of the Day 1 Jul 2021

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“This story has one of the strongest voices I have ever read. The character of Faith is gripping – readers feel every bit of her panic and her urgency to protect her home and family. This is a captivating story of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. Young readers will be swept away in this brilliant combination of folklore and modern family issues.” Scope For Imagination
“What a debut novel from Alex Cotter! A great, pacy plot, cracking characters (Faith herself, as well as Mrs Hollowbread, the grumpy teacher!), and the story being told first-person through Faith adding a real sense of engagement and empathy with/for everything that was going on.”  Whatiread
“There are great, surprising twists and by the end everything reaches a thrilling climax with the answers slotting together like bricks. This is unusually different – in all the best ways.” Chris Soul

A tense thriller that’s impossible to put down – perfect for fans of Emma Carroll and Fleur Hitchcock. Where has Faith’s dad gone? Why has he left his family living in an old house perched on a crumbling cliff top? A crack has appeared in the cliff and Faith watches anxiously as it gets bigger and bigger each day… Her brother is obsessed with the sea ghosts he claims live in the basement, and when he disappears as well, Faith starts to believe in the ghosts too. Can she find her brother and bring her father back before everything she cares about falls into the pitiless sea below? A great mystery with real heart, from a captivating new voice in middle-grade fiction.

Follow the Indonesian-based cover illustrator on Instagram:

an enthusiastic reader-response:

Waiting For Murder by Fleur Hitchcock

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A new, pacy thriller from the author of the Clifftoppers adventures.

It’s a long, hot summer. As the water drains away from the reservoir, a car emerges. And there seems to be a body in it, a body that then disappears… Daniel and Florence start to investigate and uncover a long-ago robbery, missing gold and murder. When the drought breaks, everything is swept downstream and the truth is revealed… Another thriller from the brilliant author of Murder at Midwinter.

Check out this Reading Zone interview with the author.
Follow Fleur Hitchcock on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fleur.hitchcock/
Look for more information on this Nosy Crow page…

The Girl Who by Andreina Cordani

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Leah is the perfect survivor. She was seven years old when she saw her mother and sister killed by a troubled gang member. Her case hit the headlines and her bravery made her a national sweetheart: strong, courageous and forgiving. But Leah is hiding a secret about their deaths. And now, ten years later, all she can think of is revenge. When Leah’s dad meets a new partner, stepsister Ellie moves in. Sensing Leah isn’t quite the sweet girl she pretends to be, Ellie discovers that Leah has a plan, one she has been putting together ever since that fateful day. Now that the killer – and the only one who knows the truth – is being released from prison, time is running out for Ellie to discover how far Leah will go to silence her anger . . .



The Lake by Natasha Preston

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“An eerie thriller reminiscent of summer horror movies that will keep readers on edge.” KIRKUS

Esme and Kayla were once campers at Camp Pine Lake. They’re excited to be back this year as CITs (counselors in training). Esme loves the little girls in her cabin and thinks it’s funny how scared they are of everything—spiders, the surly head counsellor, the dark, boys . . . even swimming in the lake! It reminds her a little of how she and Kayla used to be. Before . . . it happened.

Because Esme and Kayla did something bad when they were campers. Afterwards, the girls agreed to keep it secret. They’ve moved on—or so they say—and this summer is going to be great. Two months of sun and flirting with the cute boy counsellors. But then they get a note. THE LAKE NEVER FORGETS. And the secret they’ve kept buried for so many years is about to resurface.

Follow the author on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authornatashapreston/
Follow the author on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorNPreston

Lock The Doors by Vincent Ralph

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“Mum says most memories are Post-its on the fridge door of your life. But a few, she says, are tattoos on your soul.”

A second thriller from Vincent Ralph, following his debut YA novel Are You Watching?

Tom’s family have moved into their dream home. But pretty soon Tom starts to notice that something is very wrong – there are strange messages written on the wall and locks on the bedroom doors. On the OUTSIDE. The previous owners have moved just across the road and they seem like the perfect family. Their daughter Amy is beautiful and enigmatic but Tom is sure she’s got something to hide. And he isn’t going to stop until he finds the truth behind those locked doors. . .

Robin Hood 2: Piracy, Paintballs & Zebras by Robert Muchamore

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 18 Jan 2021

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Second in this new, action-packed series from an author with an avid following.
The first title – Hacking, Heists And Flaming Arrows – was a Book of the Day last April (2020).

When Clare Gisborne and Little John return to school after the Locksley Riot, there’s rebellion in the air and Robin Hood’s name graffitied on every wall. Power dynamics are shifting – now, instead of being a feared bully, the daughter of Locksley’s most hated criminal finds herself shunned by classmates and pelted with yoghurt and rotting fruit. Meanwhile at Sherwood Designer Outlets, Robin has plans of his own. He is determined to hack Sheriff Marjorie’s office so that the rebels know her every move – and to work with animal rights activists to end a cruel trophy hunt inside the grounds of Sherwood Castle.

MUCHAMORE.COM is an excellent author website, designed by himself, using Squarespace.
His Wikipedia entry is full and up-to-date.
The most recent press profile appeared in The Times (Sunday Times Culture 17 Jan 2021)

This, I believe, was ACHUKA’s first mention of Muchamore, when he won one of the book categories at what-was-then the Red House Children’s Book Awards in 2005, and I commented: “Not only was The Recruit by Robert Muchamore the biggest suprise on the shortlist, it went on to win the Books for Older Readers category, which made me wonder why none of Darren Shan’s titles have ever made it on to the CBA shortlist. The Cherub series, of which The Recruit was the first title, is picking up an avid following, with a website – www.cherubcampus.com – that is a model of how a site can be used to nurture and sustain a readership. Muchamore was there, enjoying the limelight, as well he might, in a Cherub T-shirt, thanking his mum for bringing him doughnuts while he worked, and thanking everyone else for coming.”

The Boy Ia Am by K. L. Kettle

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A speculative YA thriller, tackling themes of traditional gender roles and power dynamics

Jude is running out of time. Once a year, lucky young men in the House of Boys are auctioned to the female elite. But if Jude fails to be selected before he turns seventeen, a future deep underground in the mines awaits.
Yet ever since the death of his best friend at the hands of the all-powerful Chancellor, Jude has been desperate to escape the path set out for him. Finding himself entangled in a plot to assassinate the Chancellor, he finally has a chance to avenge his friend and win his freedom. But at what price?

The Burning Girls by C. J. Tudor

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‘Britain’s female Stephen King’ Daily Mail

Welcome to Chapel Croft. For Rev Jack Brooks and teenage daughter Flo it’s supposed to be a fresh start. New job, new home. But, as Jack knows, the past isn’t easily forgotten. And in a close-knit community where the residents seem as proud as they are haunted by Chapel Croft’s history, Jack must tread carefully. Ancient superstitions as well as a mistrust of outsiders will be hard to overcome.

Yet right away Jack has more frightening concerns.

Why is Flo plagued by visions of burning girls?
Who’s sending them sinister, threatening messages?
And why did no one mention that the last vicar killed himself?

Chapel Croft’s secrets lie deep and dark as the tomb. Jack wouldn’t touch them if not for Flo – anything to protect Flo. But the past is catching up with Chapel Croft – and with Jack. For old ghosts with scores to settle will never rest . . .

Last One To Die by Cynthia Murphy

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 6 Jan 2021

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Are you a teen who thrills to be terrified? This book is for you.
Promoted as “Point Horror for the social media generation” [The book is published by Scholastic]
We love the striking jacket design.

Young, brunette women are being attacked in London. 16-year-old, Irish-born Niamh has just arrived for a summer of freedom, and quickly discovers that the girls being attacked look frighteningly similar to her. Niamh is determined not to let her fear destroy her summer. But can her new friends be trusted? Will she be able to stay ahead of the attacker? Or will she be next? Packed with voice-driven whodunit storytelling, and a retro slasher-movie feel reminiscent of cult classics, this dark, pacy, and irresistibly-creepy debut really has something for everybody!

Last One to Die is a YA horror novel and you’ve mentioned that Point Horror has been a big influence for you. Can you tell us a bit more about your debut, and the inspiration behind it?

Last One to Die came about after a huge writing slump. I was actually trying to write something else when I started listening to a podcast called Lore and an episode about a creepy Victorian villain, Spring Heeled Jack. I had never heard of him, but it planted a little seed which I kept coming back to. I shelved what I was writing and started to brainstorm a teen horror. I have always been a huge fan of anything remotely scary so went and re-watched all of the classics from my teens – Scream, Final Destination, The Craft – and I knew that I wanted to write something scary but also fun. I wanted to recapture that feeling I had as a teen where I was thrilled to be terrified!

from Curtis Brown’s website

 

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

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A blistering horror-thriller  that will grip you from its very first page.

From the author of the New York Times bestselling Wilder Girls comes a twisty thriller about a girl whose past has always been a mystery – until she decides to return to her mother’s hometown, where history has a tendency to repeat itself . . .

Ever since Margot was born, it’s been just her and her mother. No answers to Margot’s questions. No history to hold on to. Just the two of them, stuck in their run-down apartment, struggling to get along. But that’s not enough for Margot. She wants family. She wants a past. And when she finds a photograph pointing her to a town called Phalene, she leaves. But when Margot gets there, it’s not what she bargained for. Margot’s mother left for a reason. But was it to hide her past? Or was it to protect Margot from what’s still there?