In a nutshell: rags to riches ghostly mystery story
Roald Dahl would surely approve of this exciting story, which rivals Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the importance it places on delicious sweets! Archie is astonished to learn that he’s heir to Archibald McBudge of Honeystone Hall, owner of McBudge’s Fudge and Confectionary Company. Archie loves the hall, which seems to be home to all sorts of strange creatures, and he loves the fudge factory too. There’s just one problem: no-one knows the secret ingredient that makes McBudge Fudge so delicious, and without it the factory will close. Can Archie solve the clues left by his uncle, and can he avoid his revolting relatives the Puddingham-Pyes too? With nods to Harry Potter too, it’s a tasty mix of fantasy, adventure, comedy and detection which will definitely have readers coming back for more. ~Andrea Reece
Archie McBudge knows his lucky underpants must really work because when he and his mum are summoned to Honeystone Hall in the remote Scottish village of Dundoodle, they find Archie has inherited not only the enormous hall, but the whole of the world-famous McBudge Confectionery Company from Great-Uncle Archibald. That's a new home, a fortune and a lifetime's supply of treats rolled into one! But all is not well in Dundoodle, and when Archie reads the mysterious letter his great-uncle left him he finds himself on a quest to save his family's company from ruin. With the help of his new friends Fliss and Billy, Archie has to try to figure out the puzzles of Honeystone before his sweet future melts away like an ice lolly in the sun!
David O'Connell is a writer and illustrator living in London, UK. His favourite things to draw are monsters, naughty children (another type of monster), batty old ladies and evil cats! He loves comics too, and has had work published in anthologies such as Birdsong, Solipsistic Pop, Paper Science and Accent UK.
David is also the editor of ink+PAPER, a biannual anthology combining comics and the graphic arts.