The Shadow in the North

Sally is 25, and somebody wants to destroy her. She receives divorce papers from a man she has never met, let alone married - yet this trap is so well laid that she is powerless to prove otherwise. When custody of her daughter is awarded to this evil stranger, it is the beginning of a terrifying struggle in which Sally will have to fight.

Soon after Sally Lockhart's father drowns at sea, she receives an anonymous letter. The dire warning it contains makes a man die of fear at her feet. Determined to discover the truth about her father's death, Sally is plunged into a terrifying mystery in the dark heart of Victorian London, at the center of which lies a deadly blood-soaked jewel.

Philip Pullman is one of the most popular authors for kids today. His award winning Dark Materials trilogy has sold millions of copies worldwide. Darkness Visible is a terrific guide for anyone who is a fan of Pullman's wonderful stories, and uncovers the authors many themes and inspirations.

Combining a historical setting, a supernatural theme and a compelling and likeable heroine, this is a novel for teen girls.

On her way back to London aboard the Thrush, Dido Twite and crew are summoned to the aid of the tyrannical queen of New Cumbria. Her island is an infernal place where birds carry off men and fish eat human flesh. The queen is greatly distressed because a neighbouring king has stolen her lake.

Anchorage has become a static settlement on the shores of the Dead Continent. The Lost Boys are back, and they'll do anything to get what they want. Tom and Hester's daughter Wren is their dupe, and desperate for adventure. When the theft of the mysterious Tin Book of Anchorage goes wrong, Wren is snatched away in the limpet, who knows where.

Dido is marooned with the odd inhabitants of the Tegleaze estate. Soon suspicious things happen; a priceless possession is stolen, a boy kidnapped, a twin sister found and when Dido catches a glimpse of her father, she is sure she is in the midst of another plot.

At the height of its popularity in the 1910s and 1920s, Pullman carried more than 35 million passengers annually on a fleet of 9,000-plus sleeping and parlor cars from Puget Sound to Key West and Bangor to San Diego. This nostalgic look back at what was essentially a rolling hotel company contracted by the nation's railroads

There were three people, standing in the darkest place, watching him. Simon is outraged that his Mum plans to remarry. He can't bear her new fiance or the way his mother and sister seem to have forgotten his late father. Overwhelmed by hatred, he seeks solace in a nearby abandoned water mill. But another, powerful hatred lingers within its walls.

A critical appraisal of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, this text forms part of a series that aims to provide accessible and informative introductions to some of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years.