Books in Black Cats series

While his mum recovers from cancer, Joe (and Bingo - the only psychic dog in England) stays with cousin Molly and her dad at the scientific research institute in the countryside. Early one morning, Joe hears a strange wailing sound - like an animal in distress. Molly hears it, too, and they trace it to the disused swimming pool at the back of the institute. However, there are no animals: the scientists are meant to be researching plants. Then Molly and Joe make an amazing discovery: a creature which is part-plant and part-animal. The Planimal can photosynthesise and make its own food. It's a mind-blowing discovery with huge implications for the scientific world. Some people, however, want to use the Planimal for their own selfish ends. Who are they, what do they want, and can Molly and Joe defeat them - and set the Planimal free?

Terry Deary is renowned for creating and sustaining atmospheres of haunting and menace - and he is at his best in this creepy new story. Laura Lund's family is rich - her dad won the lottery. Tommy Pickford's family is poor; but he and Laura are good friends and look out for each other always. Now, it's deep mid-winter and as a special treat, the children of Meek Street Primary are having a concert starring The Great Marvello, a magician who used to be famous. Mysteriously, Tommy's ticket is handed to him one foggy night. Someone appears from nowhere - just a set of footsteps in the fog ...The concert is thrilling: the best trick is when Marvello seems to make Laura disappear. But soon Tommy finds that she has disappeared. In fact, she's been kidnapped by Marvello for her family's money. When he sets out to rescue her, Tommy finds that he too becomes a prisoner of the sinister - and unpredictable