A gothic novel set in the 1980s. Four young people are caught up in a terrifying web of mystery involving the strange workings of destiny which links them inextricably with a band of their ancestors, fourteenth century Knights Templar, guardians of the legendary secrets and treasure of Brancepeth Castle in County Durham. They are drawn into conflict with the sinister housekeeper and cruel, power-hungry Lord Sharpsville from nearby Barons Court, and find themselves up against forces of unimaginable horror which threaten to spread across the whole of England. What are the secrets of Brancepeth Castle and the Fivefold Hounds of Darkness and does the lost treasure of Brancepeth really exist? The children have to find the answers. They are engaged in a struggle with the powerful forces of darkness in a race against time to save Brancepeth and prevent an eruption of evil that threatens to wreak havoc and disaster far across the land.
About the Author: ABOUT THE AUTHOR Once upon a time, a baby was born in a gothic mansion in Cleethorpes, with big black birds flying around the towers. The baby grew up in Farnham, Surrey and became a little girl called Cara Louise. One day, when she was six, she read a book at school about a little deer and loved it so much she wrote her own story and made it into a book by cutting up old Christmas cards. A portent of things to come. As she grew older, she wrote stories about hooded monks and ghosts which she read to her younger brother and frightened him half to death. When she grew up, she followed the ley lines to Glastonbury and wrote children's books on mysteries and magic. Her first published book was The Boy From The Hills. She also lived in a castle in Brancepeth, Durham where she wrote a gothic novel, The Hounds of Darkness. When life as a starving writer in a garret lost its appeal, as the flow of money disappeared along with the rainwater running through the roof, Cara warded off starvation by jumping on magical chariots and flying across the world to the lakes of Finland and mountains of Bulgaria and Japan, to earn a meagre crust by teaching English. She has a BA in Writing and English and an MA in Writing For Children. She has won 2nd prize in Writing for Children 12+ at the Annual Writers' Conference and 2nd prize for First Three Pages of a Novel. Cara now lives happily ever after in Devon, with a grumpy archaeologist who enjoys pouring healthy doses of scepticism into her magical world. Her brother still sleeps with the light on. For further details of cara louise's books visit: http: //www.amazon.co.uk/caralouise.