Books in the Pure Dead series

The Strega-Borgia children are still reeling from the shock of their nanny's disappearance at the end of DEEP TROUBLE. Without Flora to tend to them the kids are growing up fast. Indeed, Titus is in the throes of a deeply embarrassing and magically accelerated puberty, while all around the usual chaos reigns. Baby Damp is learning to fly under the tutelage of a bat called Vesper, Ffup the dragon is struggling with the Atkins diet and Tarantella the tarantula is trying to teach her daughters the rudiments of mascara. So far, so StregaSchloss, but add in an arrest for murder, a demon intent on revenge and a suicidal deep-frozen ancestor and you have a recipe that could only be cooked up in a Gliori-cauldron.

When the Strega-Borgias return from holiday to find that their faithful family retainer, Latch, has collapsed from unknown causes, it is only the start of their problems. Signora Strega-Borgia is feeling very peaky in the mornings, Titus is trying to save the world and Pandora has an embarrassing crush on the new butler (to say nothing of the fact that a demon is trying to invade StregaSchloss). Only Ffup the dragon is truly happy, due to her forthcoming marriage to the Loch Ness Monster. A fantastically epic plot, culminating in Flora McLachlan making the ultimate sacrifice, which will have committed fans and newcomers turning the pages late into the night.

With the slates of the StregaSchloss roof crumbling round their ears, the Strega-Borgia family, complete with staff and dungeon-dwelling beasts, is forced to decamp to a local hotel for Christmas. Bored of being cooped up with only his laptop for entertainment, Titus tries his own experiment in cyber-cloning, only to end up besieged by 500 miniature versions of himself and his sister Pandora. The beasts too are fed up at the hotel. Determined to return to StregaSchloss, Ffup the dragon, Sab the gryphon and friends set off cross-country, only occasionally distracted by the call of the wild . . . A superbly labyrinthine plot weaves together clones, kids, beasts and dodgy roofers with great humour and a touch of magic in this highly acclaimed second novel.