The Ghosts of Hawkthorn

Hawkthorn's underground tunnels are heaving with secrets but that's not all they're hiding. Twelve-year-old eco-activist turned detective Ava Frylander doesn't remember falling over the cliffs into the raging waterfall at Laureleaf Park. All she knows is, Tony is dead and it wasn't an accident. She braves Hawkthorn's grungy underground tunnels, where, according to local legend, souls of the recently departed roam - hoping to conjure her best friend's ghost and identify his killer. There she spies spectral thugs dressed in old-timey clothes before being chased out by a groaning black shadow. When she's chased off by a groaning black shadow, Ava manages to escape, but she's not the only one who emerges from the tunnels.

Stephanie Cotela holds a BA in art history from San Diego State University and MA in the history of art from University of London, Birkbeck College. She's worked in arts institutions in both the US and UK. Originally from New York, she's been living in and around London for nearly two decades and considers herself a native (although her American accent gives her away). Her two sons and large orange cat provide plenty of material and inspiration for the fiction she writes including everything from picture books about polar bears and middle grade ghost stories to young adult and adult crime thrillers. In her spare time she enjoys strolling the Thames riverbank, visiting historic houses (preferably those which are notably haunted) and museums, collecting (and reading) classic ghost stories and hanging out with her boys.