Catherine MacPhail Books In Order

Granny Nothing Books In Order

Granny Nothing (2003)
Granny Nothing and the Shrunken Head (2003)
Granny Nothing and the Rusty Key (2004)
Granny Nothing and the Secret Weapon (2004)

Nemesis Books In Order

Into the Shadows (2006)
The Beast Within (2007)
Sinister Intent (2007)
Ride of Death (2008)

Novels

Run, Zan, Run (1994)
Fighting Back (1998)
Missing (2000)
Bad Company (2001)
Dark Waters (2002)
Wheels (2003)
Another Me (2003)
Tribes (2004)
Catch Us If You Can (2004)
Underworld (2004)
Roxy’s Baby (2005)
Worse Than Boys (2007)

Picture Books

Jack in Goal (2019)
Jenny’s Choice (2019)

Novellas

Fugitive (1999)
Picking on Percy (2000)
A Kind of Magic (2001)
Get That Ghost to Go! (2003)
Sticks and Stones (2005)
Traitors’ Gate (2005)
Get That Ghost to Go Too (2006)
Dead Man’s Close (2006)
Under the Skin (2007)
Hide and Seek (2009)
Point Danger (2012)
Annie’s Choice (2014)
Stars Shall be Bright (2015)
The Evil Within (2017)
White Feather (2018)

Granny Nothing Book Covers

Nemesis Book Covers

Novels Book Covers

Picture Books Book Covers

Novellas Book Covers

Catherine MacPhail Books Overview

Sinister Intent

‘Then I heard it: something swishing rhythmically towards me out of the blackness. Ever had that feeling of terror when you can’t see what’s coming but you know it might be your worst nightmare?’ Strange lights in the night sky, people disappearing, a mysterious man calling himself Destiny…
Ram has run straight into another mystery. But the people who go missing are people no one will miss, except Ram and the dotty old woman who rescues him…
And the Dark Man finds Ram again – but how? Just when Ram thinks it is safe to run, he discovers another terrifying truth. Something that means he will never be safe again. Not him. Not anyone.

Missing

Maxine’s older brother Derek has disappeared and is believed to be dead. The family is overwhelmed with grief. Maxine suffers in school, loses friends and is losing the interest of her parents. Then the phone calls begin a boy claiming to be Derek. Is it truly her brother or could it be one of the bullies who relentlessly tormented him when he was alive?Missing might seem a simple lost and found story, but at its heart lies a compelling examination of what it means to feel powerless and alone. The unexpected ending is written responsibly and with no easy answers. MacPhail writes with page turning style, making this book eminently readable and thoroughly absorbing.

Dark Waters

Col McCann is used to being in trouble. It is always the McCann family the police turn to when there is trouble mainly because of his elder brother Mungo of course, who is generally at the centre of it. But Col adores Mungo, who always seems to be in control. He is the big man of the family since their father was killed. But one day Col discovers what it is like to be seen in a completely different light. Having bunked off school one cold winter’s day, he goes to his favourite place, the loch. There he sees a younger boy teetering dangerously on the ice, testing it. When he falls in, Col realises there is noone else to save this boy apart from him. So he dives into the icy water, half drowns himself but saves the boy. He wakes up in hospital to local acclaim. He is a hero! Nothing like this has happened before to a McCann! Col can’t resist going back to the loch, and there meets Klaus. Klaus, a refugee, with it appears a genuine fear of Mungo, leads Col to a devastating truth about his brother. Col’s loyalty to his family and his need to do what is right are put head to head in direct conflict. A testing and powerful novel from an acclaimed and prize winning author.

Wheels

James, paralized in a car accident, is now in a wheelchair and he’s furious. The teenage driver of the car that hit him was killed in the accident, so James can’t believe his eyes when he sees him walking down the street. Despite his Wheels, he decides to play detective and the driver’s sister joins him in the hunt for the ‘dead man walking’. They discover an unsuspected co driver who fled the scene of the accident, leaving the dead teenager to take the blame. The girl takes no notice of James’s wheelchair, treating him as she would any other mate, and so he begins to accept things and live a life again.

Another Me

It was as I was walking into the drama class that I remembered the girl I had bumped into and the green sweater just like mine. That was what had got Mrs Watt mixed up. She had seen the girl in the green sweater and thought it was me. That was the simple explanation. Wasn’t it? Fay can’t help thinking it odd that people start remarking on conversations she knows she hasn’t had, or saying they have seen her when she knows she was somewhere else. But then she starts hearing muffled footsteps behind her, the flash of fair hair just like hers around the corner. Is she imagining things? A gripping, spooky thriller from the acclaimed story-teller Cathy MacPhail.

Underworld

A school trip goes disastrously wrong when a visit to local caves turns into something far more sinister. Five school children find themselves trapped beneath the ground. Their best chance of escape is to stay together. Then a member of the group disappears, and their hopes of leaving start to fade. Does one of the remaining four know more than they are letting on, or is there something evil lurking in the caves? The five children find themselves in a struggle for dominance as well as survival .

Roxy’s Baby

‘Roxy was shaking with fear. She drew in a deep breath. She would not let her fear take over. She couldn’t. She had too much to lose. She had to be strong, to be brave. For once in her life she had to think of someone other than herself.’ Roxy is wild, uncontrollable. She hates her parents and her goody two shoes sister. Her only solace is her equally wild friends, Pat, Tracey and Jacqueline. Then there is the night of the party, where she lets that boy kiss her, and more and Roxy is pregnant. Wilfully, she won’t tell her mother, her family. She decides to run away to London. And in London Roxy is found by Mr and Mrs Dyce. They are understanding, sympathetic, and promise her a way out of her troubles. They will take her to a comfortable place, along with other girls in the same position and look after her and her baby which is exactly what happens. Roxy cannot believe her luck. But Roxy eventually works out the dark truth of the outwardly genial Dyces. They are ‘farming’ the babies in a truly horrible way, and selling the baby organs. There is only one dramatic way out for Roxy and it’s dangerous. But she is dealing with dangerous people and she has to take it. And now she has her baby to look after. A gripping and completely compelling story of a girl forced to grow up and think of others other than herself in the most nightmare of circumstances. These circumstances would seem too horrible to be true were they not based on fact. A network doing exactly this was discovered to be operating in Italy in 2003, causing outcry, and has formed the basis for this story.

Worse Than Boys

Hannah Driscoll is part of a gang called the Lip Gloss Girls. The gang spends most of their spare time together or baiting the rival gang the Hell Cats. The two gangs constantly square up to each other and vie for which gang can fight the best whether it be at school, in the park or on the train. Hannah feels safe and comfortable within the gang until she is accused of betraying the Lip Gloss Girls. All of a sudden Hannah is made to feel what it is like to be cast out and surrounded by enemies…

Get That Ghost to Go!

Jimmy and Seb love playing the video games, and when they try a new game, they enter a surreal world.

Sticks and Stones

Gregg thinks he’s the most popular guy in school, so nobody is more surprised than him when he finds himself in the frame for the theft of a mobile phone. A hilarious, madcap detective story. Barrington Stoke specialise in books for reluctant, struggling and dyslexic readers.