The Boy in the Burning House (9780746064818)

Jim is just regaining some semblance of a normal life following his father’s sudden disappearance, when he is attacked by a crazy girl. Ruth Rose has a wild story to tell about her stepfather, the saintly Father Fisher, and needs someone to believe her - and help her prove it. Gradually Jim is convinced by Ruth Rose and they find themselves tracking a murderer and caught up in a dangerous web of secrets from a dark and unsettling past. Ruth Rose, the wild and troubled stepdaughter of the local preacher, thinks she knows the truth behind the disappearance of Jim Hawkins' father. A gripping and fast-moving plot that reveals a dangerous web of secrets from a dark and unsettling past. Longlisted for the Guardian Children's Book Prize.