"One of the most terrifying experiences possible is when you are certain that somebody powerful, strong, and popular has the power to kill you, wants to kill you, and will certainly do so when it suits him.

The horror of it all is that you are certain you will be killed, but uncertain of the exact time of your murder. There is no escape. You watch as the plans for your own death unfold before your eyes. After a time you can stand no more. You begin to pretend that nothing is happening. But it is. All the time."

Paul Baily was just thirteen years old when all this began to happen to him, and a shadow began to darken his life. It came right out of the blue of a July afternoon when he was working in the garden of the evil Lord Blackdon.

From that moment on, Paul knew he was being hunted by strange, sinister forces, by the evil stories and statues that stood in the Devil's Garden, and especially by one huge carved stone that has once been used as the centre of devilish magic. How could he escape? The only person he could turn to was Mable Smith, the housemaid. But who would take the word of two servants when they were up against one of the most rich and powerful Lords in England?

". . . a mixture of supernatural evil, historical fantasy, social critique and earthy comedy. Readers of twelve or so with a taste for madness and supernatural mayhem will enjoy it"

Children's Books, June 1988