This atmospheric thriller, full of daring stunts and sinister villains, is perfect escapism for 9+ readers.

Mouse, a foundling, loves her pieced-together family at the Moth Theatre fiercely. When their leading man, Walter, is wrongly arrested for murder, Mouse swears she'll free him. But another member of the cast has a secret identity ­- as a ruthless killer. As Mouse's investigation leads her ever closer to their true, deadly nature, can she outwit them without losing everything she holds dear?

A masterfully told adventure from the acclaimed author of The Boy Who Flew and Murder in Midwinter, Mouse Heart is ideal for fans of Philip Pullman, Katherine Rundell and Philip Reeve.

Born in Chobham and raised outside Winchester, Fleur Hitchcock grew up as the youngest child of three. She spent her smallest years reading Tintin and Batman, and searching for King Alfred's treasure. She grew up a little, went away to school near Farnham, studied English in Wales, and, for the next twenty years, sold Applied Art in the city of Bath. When her younger child was seven, she embarked on the Writing for Young People MA at Bath Spa and graduated with a distinction. Now living outside Bath, between parenting and writing, Fleur works with her husband, a toymaker, looks after other people's gardens and tries to grow vegetables.