I’m not very good at keeping secrets – but now that I’m an author I’ve had to do my best to learn. And I think I’ve done pretty well at keeping this news under my hat: in 2020, my ENTIRELY NEW short story The Case of the Drowned Pearl, featuring Hazel, Daisy, Alexander and George, will be one of the World Book Day £1 books in the UK and Ireland!

The Case of the Drowned Pearl, illustrated as always by my wonderful cover artist Nina Tara, will be about the same length as The Case of the Missing Treasure, but unlike Missing Treasure, it’s a tiny murder mystery. The Detective Society and the Junior Pinkertons go to the seaside for their holidays – but their plans are disrupted when they discover the body of an Olympic swimmer on the beach. Can they work out whodunit before it’s too late … ?

This is the first story I’ve ever written that’s narrated by both Hazel and Daisy – I had a lot of fun with their voices in this book! The plot takes place after the end of Top Marks for Murder, so this is what’s next for my detectives – but if you’ve never read any of my stories before, you should be able to start with this one and then move on to all of my full length books.

The Case of the Drowned Pearl will be out on Thursday 5th March 2020 in the UK and Ireland. It’ll cost £1 unless you have one of the World Book Day tokens that are given to children in the UK and Ireland – if you do, it’s free!

I’m so honoured to be one of the twelve brilliant authors chosen to write books for World Book Day 2020. The World Book Day campaign works to make sure that every child in the UK and Ireland has the opportunity to own a great book. I know how fun and exciting reading is, and how lifechanging it can be to have access to books, and I want to share that knowledge with as many kids as possible!

I really hope you’re as excited as I am about World Book Day 2020. And in case you’re wondering, this is just the beginning of our plans for Murder Most Unladylike in 2020 …