Haarville by Justin Davies

With fishy smells, pungent pongs and frightful whiffs, Haarville’s not a place many people travel too – they’d need to find it first! Hidden in the murky mist that constantly surrounds its coastline and strangely missing from every seafarers map, a treacherous reef awaits any unfortunate souls who lose their bearings and find themselves on its stinky shore.

Manx Fearty loves his quirky town regardless of the stench and he is exceptionally good at fixing all the perpertual devices that keep the everyday ticking over for Haarville’s eclectic inhabitants. His guardian, Father G, works alongside him in his family shop ‘Fearty’s Perpetuals’, keeping the Fearty name alive and well by mending all the devices that come their way. Amber rose, the precious energy source that powers them was originally found by Manx’s parents many years ago – its whereabouts still unknown!

Orphaned as a baby, Haarville is the only place Manx considers home. When the frightening rogue Ninian Baggit, followed closely behind by his quiet son Nathan, come to town, they head straight to Fearty’s Perpetuals and it’s not to get their toaster fixed. It’s to claim ownership of the shop and all its belongings! Thrown onto the streets under a dubious guise of family heritage claims, Manx and Father G lose everything they’ve ever had, including Father G’s famous slot on stage as drag queen ‘Gloria in Excelsis’, adored by the good folk of Haarville – until now! With heightened gossip about the strangers seeping into every house, it’s not long before the Elders convince the town dwellers that Manx is not the link in the Fearty family tree he thought he was.

Sent to live in Phlegm Town, a neighbouring spattering of houses and shops everyone tries to avoid, Manx is running out of time if he’s to prove he is the rightful heir and find the hidden amber rose treasure before Baggit does. With the help of his friend, Fantoosh, and his all-knowing pet oystercatcher, Olu, together they take Nathan under their wing to solve the secrets of Haarville once and for all. Dare you join Manx and his team as he deciphers clues hidden in Haarville? Will he ever get his parents shop back? Will he and Father G remain in Phlegm Town forever?

A thrilling mystery of epic sea-based proportions, Justin Davies’s ‘Haarville’ is a fantastic tension-filled detective story overflowing with friendship, fun and a fantastic, yet scary, attempt to survive the perilous currents of Razor Reef. With tremendous illustrations by Francesca Ficorilli, this superb children’s novel will have you rooting for Manx and friends with every turn of the page.

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