Winner of the 2011 Blue Peter Book of the Year Award, DEAD MAN'S COVE is the first book in a gripping adventure series about eleven-year-old ace detective, Laura Marlin, from award-winning author Lauren St John.

When orphaned Laura Marlin moves from a children's home to live with her uncle in Cornwall, she longs for a life of excitement just like the characters in her favourite detective novels.

A real life adventure is on hand as she is deposited at her uncle's spooky house . . . Why does her uncle, Calvin Redfern, forbid her to go to Dead Man's Cove? What's the truth about Tariq, the silent Indian boy who lives with the flamboyant Mukthars? Who is J? Who has left the message in a bottle for Laura to discover? Mysteries abound and who better to solve them than Laura Marlin, ace detective?

Accompanied by her trusty companion, Skye, a three-legged husky, the dog she's always wanted, Laura's adventures begin in this first captivating mystery.

Blue Peter award-winning mystery adventure series from the author of THE WHITE GIRAFFE quartet, about Laura Marlin, an 11-year-old ace detective.

About the Author
Lauren St John grew up surrounded by horses, cats, dogs and a pet giraffe on a farm and game reserve in Zimbabwe, the inspiration for her bestselling White Giraffe and One Dollar Horse series, as well as her YA horse novel, The Glory. Dead Man's Cove, the first in her Laura Marlin Mystery series, won the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award. Before becoming a children's author, she worked as a journalist for The Sunday Times, writing about sports, music and spies. Along with her veterinary nursing training, it served as perfect research for her Kat Wolfe mystery series and The Snow Angel, a standalone MG novel. A passionate conservationist, Lauren is an Ambassador for the Born Free Foundation, a patron for horse sanctuary, Mane Chance, and the founder of Authors4Oceans. When not rescuing leopards and dolphins, she is a full-time valet to her rescued, and not in the least demanding, Bengal cat, Max. To find out more, visit her website at www.laurenstjohn.com David Dean studied illustration at Manchester Metropolitan University and has been working as an illustrator since 1999. He has to date created covers for nearly 40 books including Lauren St. John's THE WHITE GIRAFFE and DOLPHIN SONG (both Orion), as well as many other illustrations for books, magazines, CDs, posters and advertisements. He lives (with his cat) in Cheshire.

Reviews
I strongly believe that this is a book everyone will love. It is full of adventure and mystery. It's one of those books that you really don't want to put down and you really have to force yourself to stop reading * THE GUARDIAN ONLINE *
The Blue Peter Book of the Year Award-winning book is completely cptivating * The Junior Week *
A charming novel * TEENAGE FICTION FOR ALL AGES *


Awards
Short-listed for Salford Children's Book Award 2014 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9781444001488
Author Lauren St. John
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Orion Children's Books
Publisher Hachette Children's Group
Weight(grams) 160g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 20mm