This spine-tingling sequel to "Withering-by-Sea" sees 11-year-old Stella sent away to the moldering old family estate of Wormwood Mire, where she discovers two odd cousins--and and more clues to the mysteries of her family and of herself. Illustrations.

Judith Rossell worked as a government scientist (not a mad scientist, a normal kind of scientist), for a cotton spinning company (which made threads for t-shirts and tea bags), and studied textile design in Scotland before becoming a full-time author and illustrator. She has illustrated or written nearly a hundred children's books, including some by such internationally bestselling authors as Garth Nix and Jackie French. Jude lives in Melbourne, which is down in the bottom right corner of Australia, with a cat the size of a walrus. Visit her at JudithRossell.com.