Darkus can't believe it when a huge insect drops out of the trouserleg of his horrible new neighbour. It's a giant beetle - andit seems to want to communicate. But how can a boy be friends witha beetle? And what does a beetle have to do with the disappearanceof his dad and the arrival of Lucretia Cutter, with her tastefor creepy jewellery?
The first book in the bestselling BATTLE OF THE BEETLES
series – perfect for fans of Roald Dahl!
Winner of the Branford Boase Award
Shortlisted
for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize
Shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Children's Book
Award
Chosen for the Tom Fletcher Book Club
'Truly great storytelling.' MICHAEL MORPURGO
'Funny, exciting and genuinely eccentric' PHILIP
REEVE
'Roald Dahl meets 101 Dalmatians in a rollicking
ride, full of adventure with vivid characters' EXPRESS
'By the end, you'll think beetles are the coolest creatures
on the planet' TOM FLETCHER
Darkus’s dad is missing – vanished from a locked room
in the Natural History Museum. The police are baffled; how can
someone disappear without a trace?
Moving in with his eccentric uncle, Darkus discovers a new friend
in a giant beetle – and it wants to communicate.
But can a boy and a beetle be friends? And can they find Darkus’s
dad together?
- The first book in MG Leonard's acclaimed trilogy, followed
by Beetle Queen and Battle of the Beetles!
- Featuring exotic beetles, a daring quest, a mixture of
bold male and female characters and a truly venomous villain
- Includes brilliant illustrations by Julia Sardà
- From the author of Hunt for the Golden Scarab,
Twitch and the Adventure on Trains series, co-written
with Sam Sedgman
