The Midnight Palace
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
In Calcutta in 1916, after the deaths of both their parents in bizarre circumstances, two babies are separated at birth.
A sinister, cold-blooded killer is seeking out the children but thanks to the self-sacrifice of their grandmother they remain safe for a number of years until, aged 16, they finally have to take their chances in the adult world.
This tense, haunting and gruesome fantasy thriller moves at a remarkable pace between a ruined palace, a ghostly railway station and an abandoned mansion with the city of Calcutta featuring as a character almost as strongly as the secret society at its heart. Inspired, unexpected and, at times, desperately sad, this is compelling reading for teens.