Flood and Fang

Meet the wonderfully weird Otherhand family and their faithful guardian, Edgar the raven, and discover the dark secrets of Castle Otherhand. Edgar is alarmed when he sees a nasty looking black tail slinking under the castle walls. But his warnings to the inhabitants of the castle go unheeded: Lord Valevine Otherhand is too busy trying to invent the unthinkable and discover the unknowable; his wife, Minty, is too absorbed in her latest obsession - baking; and ten-year-old Cudweed is running riot with his infernal pet monkey. Only Solstice, the black-haired, poetry-writing Otherhand daughter, seems to pay any attention. As the lower storeys of the castle begin mysteriously to flood, and kitchen maids continue to go missing, the family come ever closer to the owner of the black tail...First in a brand new six book series of tales of mystery (with a touch of goth-froth) for 9 year olds from bestselling author, Marcus Sedgwick. With quirky black and white line illustrations from new talent, Pete Williamson. Dedicated website on Raven Mysteries: www.ravenmysteries.co.uk

Told from the bird's eye view of a resident raven, this is a deliciously topsy-turvy comedy full of unusual details. The Otherhand family are far from normal and life in Otherhand Castle is distinctly strange. Edgar the raven cares little for them but, given his view point, he can't help noticing that things are going very wrong indeed. Edgar's account of the Otherhand's family life and how they deal with the danger that is besetting them is as original as it is weird. -- Julia Eccleshare LOVEREADING4KIDS.COM The quirky illustrations are perfect for this book and readers who enjoyed the Series of Unfortunate Events will love this too. -- Katherine Jennings WATERSTONE'S BOOKS QUARTERLY This thrilling bit of Gormenghast-lite will appeal to anyone who enjoyed the Series of Unfortunate Events, or who just likes a nice gothic story. The characters are well drawn and since this is the start of a series it bodes well for the future. -- Steve Birt, Gloucester WATERSTONES.COM Edgar, the 'self guardian saviour of Otherhand Castle' is a wonderful creation: vain, pompous and pleased with himself, he narrates the story of FLOOD AND FANG with wit. -- Toby Clements DAILY TELEGRAPH This is a wonderful, entertaining read, very similar to the Gormenghast and Series of Unfortunate Events books. The characters are well rounded and Solstice and Edgar are likeable characters. The book's illustrations enhance the story as well. A fangtastic adventure! 8/10 PA SYNDICATED REVIEW Flood and Fang is as funny and twisted as the members of the Otherhand family themselves... You'll laugh when you read this book - a lot. TRAPPEDBYMONSTERS.COM The tale itself is told with extraordinary wit and razor sharp repartee; Edgar is a comical genius (if it were possible for Ravens to be comical or geniuses) somehow making the ridiculous and preposterous into one big laugh after the other. THETRUTHABOUTBOOKS 'it's all good foul fun" BOOKS FOR KEEPS "Edgar, our raven narrator, lives in Otherhand Castle with a hopeless family who keep needing Edgar to come to their rescue. In this first book, the peril comes from a flooded castle and a prowling scaly monster. Edgar is grumpy, self-important and extremely good company, and the family is as mad a bunch as you could hope to meet in a fantastical castle (including the delightful Solstice who says "Gasp!" a lot, and her brother Cudweed's disagreeable monkey)." -- Daniel Hahn THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY "Flood and Fang is one big bundle of fun from start to finish, and it's my new favourite book in the 8-12 age range. I've lost count of how many times I had to put it down because I was laughing so much, but lets just say it was a lot!" -- Jenny WONDROUSREADS BLOG

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