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Children's reading lists

14 kids’ books for science fans

A Times Thriller of the Year

Tick Tock

'A slice of scary, escapist fun' Observer 
'The twists and turns are never-ending' Daily Mail 
'An unnervingly plausible and scintillatingly paced thriller' Radio Times 
'A phenomenal thriller, meticulously plotted and brilliantly realised' Clare Mackintosh, Books of the Year 
_______________________________ 
 
If you can hear it, your time is running out. 
 
Teacher Kit Chaplin can't understand why some students at his north London school are experiencing an extreme ticking noise in their ears. Perhaps it's just a severe form of tinnitus? But only days later, it spreads to more students - and starts leaving bodies in its wake. 
 
Eminent vaccinologist Lilly Slater has never seen anything like this before. She must race against the clock to work out what is happening - and to find a cure. 
 
But their investigation throws up more questions than answers until they realise the mystery behind the illness is even bigger than they could have imagined... 
 
Will the truth behind this catastrophe become clear before it's too late? 
_______________________________ 
 
Readers are loving Tick Tock 
 
'Well, BBC Radio presenter Simon Mayo sure can write a darned good thriller!' 
'An excellent conspiracy theory thriller, it's exciting, full of danger... it's riveting and hard to put down' 
'I was utterly gripped and read this in one sitting! I could feel the tension and fear in every page - loved it!' 
'Never has there been a more timely thriller! I was gripped from the first page. I was so immersed, I read it in one night.'

Tick Tock is an unnervingly plausible and scintillatingly paced thriller

The characters are well observed, the dialogue effortless and the twists and turns never-ending

Mayo spools out his many twists and turns skillfully. A slice of scary, escapist fun

Cleverly and credibly, Mayo turns his medical thriller into something of a spy thriller...[the] dialogue is a joy throughout

Simon Mayo MBE is a writer and broadcaster. His previous books include the Sunday Times bestseller Knife Edge, Mad Blood Stirring, Blame and the Itch trilogy, filmed for TV by the ABC. He hosts Drivetime on Greatest Hits Radio and hosts the 'The Take' film-review podcast with Professor Mark Kermode.

If you can hear it, your time is running out. 
 
Teacher Kit Chaplin can't understand why some students at his north London school are experiencing an extreme ticking noise in their ears. Perhaps it's just a severe form of tinnitus? But only days later, it spreads to more students - and starts leaving bodies in its wake. 
 
Eminent vaccinologist Lilly Slater has never seen anything like this before. She must race against the clock to work out what is happening - and to find a cure. 
 
But their investigation throws up more questions than answers until they realise the mystery behind the illness is even bigger than they could have imagined... 
 
Will the truth behind this catastrophe become clear before it's too late?

the gripping Sunday Times bestseller

Knife Edge

From one of our best-loved radio presenters comes a race-against-time, ST top ten bestselling thriller, chillingly resonant with today's headlines.

'The best kind of thriller - step by all-too-plausible step we're sucked into frantic, breathless action ... Perfect."

Mayo proves unfailingly good at dialogue...an overwhelming powerful spell Knife Edge casts while you're reading it

Simon Mayo is clearly a force to be reckoned with in the thriller world ... Smart and tense [with] some highly ingenious twists

Another gripping read ... you'll be on a knife edge

Tense, taut and splendidly twisty

A gripping - and decidedly dark - debut thriller

Interwoven storylines, heartfelt characters and authentic dialogue

A gut-churningly intense and exciting read

An edge-of-your-seat thriller

Remarkably hard hitting and surprising...It's quite a ride. A tough, exciting read

From the gripping opening to the dramatic conclusion, short chapters keep the tension taut and the pages

Suspenseful, chilling and disturbingly pertinent to modern times, Knife Edge packs a serious punch.

'The best kind of thriller - step by all-too-plausible step we're sucked into frantic, breathless action ... Perfect." LEE CHILD 
 
You never know where danger may come from... 
 
 6.45am. A sweltering London rush hour. And in the last 27 minutes, seven people have been murdered. 
 
In a series of coordinated attacks, seven men and women across London have been targeted. For journalist Famie Madden, the horror unfolds as she arrives for the morning shift. 
 
The victims have one thing in common: they make up the investigations team at the news agency where Famie works. The question everyone’s asking: what were they working on that could prompt such brutal devastation? 
 
As Famie starts to receive mysterious messages, she must find out whether she is being warned of the next attack, or being told that she will be the next victim...

Mad Blood Stirring

Simon Mayo delivers the best of reading group fiction. A robust historical novel with a beating heart, MAD BLOOD STIRRING shines new light on one of life’s oldest truths; sometimes, in our darkest hour, it can be the most unlikely of things that see us through.

Wonderful - a story I never heard before, told with style, pace, character, texture, and tension ... bliss.

If you like your historical thrillers dark and emotional, you’ll absolutely love getting swept up in this one

Well researched and full of action, Mayo brings a forgotten moment in history to life ****

Bristling with energy, written with passion, Mad Blood Stirring is a joy to read.

Mad Blood Stirring is an astonishing account of an explosive piece of neglected history. It's a rapid page turner with dark humour, intellectual heft, and a gallery of deeply human characters that shake our spirits.

Fascinating . . . it has genuine energy and drive

'The plot of Mad Blood Stirring grows from a kernel of historical truth, but his book dazzles not so much as fact than as fiction...Instructive as well as entertaining' 
NEW YORK TIMES 
 
1815: The war is over but for the inmates at Dartmoor Prison, peace - like home - is still a long way away. 
 
On the eve of the year 1815, the captured sailors of the Eagle arrive at Dartmoor prison; bedraggled, exhausted, sustained only by a rumour heard along the way. 
 
Joe Hill thought he’d left the conflict behind but it is clear there is a different type of battle here. As he announces the news of the end of the war, the guards bristle and the inmates stir. The powder keg was fixed to blow and Joe has just lit the fuse. 
 
Elizabeth Shortland, the Governor’s wife, looks out at the unsettled crowd. The peace means the end is near, that she needn’t be here for ever. But suddenly, she cannot bear the thought of leaving. 
 
Inspired by true events, Mad Blood Stirring is a story of hope and freedom, of loss and suffering. It is a story about how sometimes, in our darkest hour, it can be the most unlikely of things that see us through. 
 
* 
 
'Wonderful - a story I never heard before, told with style, pace, character, texture, and tension ... bliss.' Lee Child 
 
'Bristling with energy, written with passion, Mad Blood Stirring is a joy to read.' John Boyne

Blame

A brand new YA suspense thriller, from author of the bestselling ITCH series, Simon Mayo.

Action-packed and tightly written . . . the tension does not let up, while the underlying theme of blame makes us consider how the older generation can leave a heritage of harm to the young

What happens when society wants you banged up in prison for a crime your parents committed? 
 
That’s the situation in which Ant finds herself – together with her little brother Mattie and their foster-parents, she’s locked up in a new kind of family prison. None of the inmates are themselves criminals, but wider society wants them to do time for the unpunished ‘heritage’ crimes of their parents. 
 
Tensions are bubbling inside the London prison network Ant and Mattie call home – and when things finally erupt, they realize they’ve got one chance to break out. Everyone wants to see them punished for the sins of their mum and dad, but it’s time for Ant to show the world that they’re not to blame. 
 
A new nail-bitingly taught YA suspense thriller, from author of the bestselling ITCH series, Simon Mayo.

Itchcraft

The third book in the bestselling action adventure series by BBC radio presenter Simon Mayo.

Exploding euros and exciting elements - join Itch, Jack and Chloe on their latest adventure. 
 
Itchingham Lofte, teenage element hunter and unlikely hero, has had anough excitement to last him a lifetime. Stumbling across an unknown radioactive element and trying to keep it out of the hands of those who want to use it for their own ends was hard enough. But when a school trip to Spain ends in exploding currency and rioting locals, he knows that he has to continue to look for answers. 
 
Itch knows the lives of those closest to him are at risk. He must track down a deadly enemy who will stop at nothing to take his vengeance . . .

Itch Rocks

The second book in the explosively exciting adventure series by BBC radio presenter Simon Mayo.

This fantastic book keeps you guessing at every turn and gives you some interesting facts about physics and chemistry.

With its explosive mix of action and adventure, chemistry lessons will never be  the same again.

Mayo’s story about the misadventures of a 14-year-old science nut, Itchingham Lofte, whose experiments result in exploding dustbins and “mass puking over teachers”, soon had 150 pupils erupting in spontaneous applause. By the time he wrapped things up 40 minutes later, every child wanted his autograph and the queue snaked around the hall.

After almost poisoning his whole class with arsenic gas, going on the run from a psychotic science teacher and nearly dying of radiation poisoning, life is getting back to normal for Itchingham Lofte - at least, as normal as it can be when you have a round-the-clock detail of government security guards watching your every move. 
 
But sinister forces are still hunting for Element 126 and will stop at nothing to find out where Itch has hidden the precious radioactive rocks. With the help of his sister Chloe and his tomboy cousin Jack, Itch has to put 126 beyond the reach of unscrupulous scientists and international terrorists forever. 
 
It's time to save the world. Again. 
 
The second book in the explosively exciting ITCH series. 'A great debut. You'll be itching to read more.' Anthony Horowitz

Simon Mayo

Simon Mayo is clearly a force to be reckoned with in the thriller world... Smart and tense [with] some highly ingenious twists.

Mayo spools out his many twists and turns skillfully. A slice of scary, escapist fun.

The characters are well observed, the dialogue effortless and the twists and turns never-ending.

Your house is on fire. What do you save? 
You have seconds to decide. 
If everything is about to burn, what do you rescue first? 
 
'Gripping' Daily Express 
'Full of twists and turns' That's Life 
'Another winner... Plenty of twists, the odd conspiracy theory to ramp up the pace. Insider glimpses into the media and art world add fascination' Press Association 
_______________ 
 
When the West End Gallery in London's fashionable Coal Drops Yard is set alight, the fire service must use the list of paintings lodged with it - a grab list - to snatch the key pieces of art from the flames. 
 
But something has been altered. It’s the wrong list. 
 
Then the ashes reveal another tragedy: an unidentified dead body. Someone who shouldn’t have been in the gallery. Crusading journalist Famie Madden wants to know who it is and why they were there. Soon it becomes apparent that the ashes are hiding much more than they should be - and that this is much more than a casual act of arson… 
 
Bestselling author and legendary broadcaster Simon Mayo has created a spellbinding contemporary thriller. He weaves a story ripped from today’s newspapers that will take Famie far from the pages of her website into a murderous family saga stretching back over centuries. 
_______________ 
 
Praise for Simon Mayo 
 
'Mayo spools out his many twists and turns skilfully' Observer 
'Simon Mayo is clearly a force to be reckoned with in the thriller world' The Times 
'The characters are well observed, the dialogue effortless and the twists and turns never-ending' Daily Mail

Simon Mayo

Praise for Black Tag

Gripping

Full of twists and turns

Praise for Simon Mayo

Gripping

Full of twists and turns

Praise for Simon Mayo

Gripping

Full of twists and turns

Praise for Simon Mayo

Books by Simon Mayo

Series by Simon Mayo

ITCH

Articles featuring Simon Mayo

14 kids’ books for science fans

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