Laurella Swift and the Ocean of Mystery

Looks can be deceiving - as Laurella Swift discovers when a delicate china pot sends the 10-year-old hurtling headlong into her third adventure back in time.

It transports the London schoolgirl onto an ocean liner bound for Batavia in 1930, where she befriends 7-year-old passenger Elsie and Bintang, the ship's Bell Boy.

Laurella is determined to unravel the mystery surrounding a surly, solitary traveller - who the children nickname: The Bluebottle. But when Laurella and her friends delve deeper, she makes a horrifying discovery.

Laurella Swift and the Ocean of Mystery is the third book in the gripping series of Laurella Swift adventures. The historical fantasy takes middle-grade readers on a rip-roaring escapade with the mixed-race 10-year-old and her new-found friends. Packed with humour, suspense, thrills and spills, Laurella's third adventure is every bit as exciting as her first two adventures: Laurella Swift and the Keys of Time and Laurella Swift and the Voyage of Discovery.

Readers are also encouraged to discover more about life aboard an ocean liner in the 1930s through the inclusion of an author's note, a selection of useful links, two recipe ideas and a bookmark craft activity.