By Anthony Horowitz
Walker Books, £12.99

Spookily-clad in its dark-green, skull-embossed cover, with green dye tinting the sides of the pages like an evil moss, Anthony
Horowitz’s Necropolis is exquisitely deathly. And the contents, of course, do not disappoint.

A school trip plunges the unsuspecting teenager Scarlett into the hell of an ancient monastery, where she is almost killed before she can embark on her mission. Desperately trying to reach and help Scarlett in her quest, although she does not realise it at first, are the four boy heroes introduced earlier in the Power of Five series, led by Matt Freeman.

The chill-packed, thrill-packed plot moves rapidly from London to Hong Kong. A Hong Kong, in fact, where the very air can kill you and any passer-by in the anonymous throng might turn out to be a zombie.

This is a one-gulp, don’t-forget-to-breathe, keep-the-nightlight-on read. But as well as being an accomplished shocker, it’s an acutely-observed and philosophical novel, about soulless modern society. Ages 11 up, but parents will steal it.