'Wonderfully dark and magical. An absolute classic' Phil Hickes, author of The Haunting of Aveline Jones

Featuring new illustrations

The Deptford Mice live a cosy life in the skirting boards of an abandoned London house, with no humans or cats to disturb them. But something lurks in the dank sewers beneath the city - a mysterious, powerful being, worshipped by a horde of bloodthirsty rats who cower in its presence...

When a brave mouse ventures down into the sewers, he uncovers a terrifying plot to awaken an ancient evil. Soon his family and friends must summon all their courage to confront treacherous enemies and foul sorcery in a battle to save London and the world from eternal darkness.

'Spooky and enthralling animal fantasy just right for Redwall fans... [Jarvis] provides counterpoint to the heart-racing adventure with scenes of haunting beauty... [and] conveys a sense of place powerful enough to elevate the South London boroughs of Greenwich and Blackheath to requisite stops on any bookish child's literary tour of the British capital' - Publishers Weekly, starred review

'Entertaining and genuinely frightening' - Kliatt

'A grand-scale epic... Filled with high drama, suspense, and some genuine terror' - Lloyd Alexander, author of The Chronicles of Prydain

'Robin Jarvis joins the ranks of Kenneth Grahame, Richard Adams, and Walter Wangerin in the creation of wonderfully anthropomorphic animals' - Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time

'A tale of horror and valor, good and evil, leavened with humor' - Booklist

Robin Jarvis is a British children's author who has entertained (and pleasantly terrified) generations of children with his brilliantly imagined dark fantasy stories, including the Deptford Mice and Whitby Witches series. He studied graphic design in Newcastle and then worked in television and advertising making model monsters and puppets before writing The Dark Portal, the first book on the Deptford Mice series, which was the runner up for the Smarties book prize in 1989.