Inspired by the international television sensation “The Traitors”, And Then There Were None meets The Mysterious Benedict Society in this new middle-grade mystery full of adventure, cunning and trickery.
The news is everywhere: thirteen children are to be chosen to participate in a murder-mystery competition run by the mysterious billionaire Dame Grimthorpe on her remote private island. And there’s everything to play for: an absolute fortune for the winner’s home region and a smaller fortune for the winner themselves.
Scrappy, neglected orphan Jenny Twistle is inexplicably chosen to be Scragland’s competitor and travels to Dame Grimthorpe’s island. The other competitors are their regions’ best and brightest: talented, wealthy, and well-prepared – and they immediately size Jenny up as no threat whatsoever. Jenny soon realizes she was chosen because she was expendable, and that no one in Scragland expects her to come anywhere close to winning.
The players are soon divided up: the Innocents are tasked with uncovering the identities of the secret Murderers. But Dame Grimthorpe’s game soon turns deadly. A real murderer is at loose on the island, and as the bodies pile up, it will take the most resourceful, fearless player to prevent more bloodshed, prove to the world that they’ve all underestimated her…and take home the prize
Julia Golding is the award-winning author of over sixty books for children, young adults and adults. Over a million and a half of her books have been sold around the world, with bestselling titles in a wide range of age categories, including The Diamond of Drury Lane, winner of the inaugural Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. She is also Director of the Oxford Centre for Fantasy which uses the inspiration of Oxford Fantasy writers such as Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll to inspire new creativity.
UK Publisher: Usborne, January 2027
UK Editor: Rebecca Hill
Primary Agent: Molly Ker Hawn
Extent: 60,000 words ****
Material: Draft manuscript
Film/TV Agent: DHA (Clare Israel)
Co-agents: Chinese: Andrew Nurnberg Associates; Japanese: Tuttle-Mori
All rights available