New Releases by Jim Eldridge

An action-packed sleuth thriller for fans of the Da Vinci Code

An action-packed historical sleuth thriller for fans of The Da Vinci Code

Twelve stories that transport the reader from the Londinium of two millennia past to the London of 2012, anticipating the Olympic games and a Diamond Jubilee.

These thrilling wartime adventures transport the reader to the heat of battle. ''Deadly Skies'' sees John Smith, Spitfire pilot, in the throes of the Battle of Britain. ''Tank Attack'' takes the action to the deserts of North Africa as John witnesses the Battle of El Alamein from behind a tank. ''Behind Enemy Lines'' takes us forward to 1943 to the jungles of South-East Asia, as John undertakes a dangerous commando mission. Riveting fictionalised accounts, packed with historical detail, give a new immediacy to WWII that will enthral young male readers.

Exciting historical fiction set in Ancient Egypt! It''s 2517 BC and Pharaoh Khafre is building a great pyramid at Giza to rival those built by his predecessors. He is also making plans for what will become one of the most famous and iconic monuments in history - the Sphinx. But Khafre has enemies and division in his workforce. Among the labourers in his employ is one 12-year-old boy - Nebka. Nebka has his own reasons for hating the pyramids and wanting to rebel. But his rebellion could have drastic consequences for those closest to him.

Meet Dave. He''s disgusting - everyone says so. Even his mum is fed up with him examining his nose pickings. So now Dave''s got a challenge: if he can avoid doing anything disgusting for a week, he gets a £20 reward. He thinks he can do it. At least, until his arch-enemy, Banger Bates, lands him with Fred, the farting dog.

Rob''s the army''s youngest bomb disposal officer, he''s also the best. But when he''s called into a school to defuse a bomb planted by terrorists he must recall some painful events from his past in order to make sure that the bomb doesn''t explode. The clock is ticking. Will he do it in time?

It''s 2517 BC, and the Nile has flooded. Unable to plough their fields, Nebka follows his uncle to build the pyramid of Khafre. It''s back-breaking work, all for the glory of the Pharaoh. Then he meets a mysterious prisoner claiming to be the rightful heir to the throne, and is drawn in to a deadly plot...

In The Sweep''s Boy, My Story readers will be transported back to the fog-choked streets of 1870 London, a truly perilous place for a boy like Will. Forced by the Workhouse Master into employment as a chimney sweep, it isn''t long before Will''s aptitude for scaling small spaces attracts the attention of Hutch, a burglar with big ambitions . . .

A collection of three exciting Second World War stories in a satisfyingly chunky flexibound format. Includes the stories of the Battle of Britain - when the RAF fought the Luftwaffe for control of the skies above the English Channel; the decisive battle at Alamein, where the British ''Eighth Army'' destroyed the German forces in Egypt; and the story of D-Day and the Allied invasion of France, when 130,000 men landed on the Normandy beaches under enemy fire.

Nineteen-year-old Jack Fairfax has volunteered for the Royal Flying Corps, but his family does not approve. When his best friend is shot down by German Ace pilots, he vows to avenge him.

Billy Stevens goes to war in the trenches as an innocent boy and comes back as a man. Carlisle, 1919. It all began just five years ago, but in those five years everything has changed. In that time I''ve lost good friends, and made new ones. I''ve changed from Billy Stevens, the innocent boy from Carlisle, to Billy Stevens, a man whose mind is still filled with memories of terrible sights that I hope no one else has to see or live through. This is my story, told while those memories are still vivid in my mind. But I don''t think they''ll ever go away... Sixteen-year-old Billy Stevens joins the military to "kick the Kaiser back to Germany." He lies about his age to join up, and is initially disappointed when he is assigned to the Royal Engineers because of his telegraph training. But soon enough he is sent to the Front and the terrible sights and sounds of the trenches. Told in the first person, this exciting book lets young readers feel what it was like to live in England during the Great War.

Paul Lelaud France 1942-1944 I couldn''t see the four fires, but I could smell them, the scent of burning paraffin and wood coming thickly in waves of smoke across the field. My heart started thumping again. Surely if we could smell the fires, others could as well. A German patrol would smell them for sure! Then I was aware of a large shape looming up in the night sky, its wings wide. It was the biggest thing I had ever seen. There were no lights showing on it. Down, down, down it came, lower and lower. I could hear the sound of its engine slowing and I thought with alarm, "If it goes any slower it will crash in the field, and what will we do then?" Paul Leland is a 13-year-old boy living in rural France. He has been living under Nazi occupation since 1940. Working with the Resistance cell in his village, Paul is a crucial figure in the ''escape route'' for allied POWs and agents.

April 1587 Now I saw the Spanish ships clearly. Even from this distance I could see the men on board scurrying around the upper deck''s, and knew they were hurrying to their stations, ready for battle. But we had been too quick for them. FIRE roared Mr Belson from the centre of the gundeck. Jones thrust his smoking taper into the back of the cannon and sparks flared from out of the hole. Back Jones shouted, and we all leapt away-just in time because a loud explosion filled the area around us with smoke, bright sparks and flames...

If you''re fed up doing the washing up, fancy staying up late or feel like giving the cabbage and sprouts a miss at dinner time, this is the book for you! It''ll show you how to get out of the horrider things in life and still get off totally scott free!