Don't look to closely into the mirror.

It may look back...

Dunn Caulkner is no stranger to scary stories. The village of Harrowmere is plagued by danger and the unexplained: foggy boglands, eerie wraithlights and the terrifying legend of Grasping Jack. So how could Dunn ever have known that the darkest threat of all would come from a looking glass?

No one questions the arrival of a travelling salesman practically giving away his mirrors. Nor do Dunn and his friends think there's any harm in toying with a mirror ritual said to reveal your true self. For what could be dangerous about a reflection? But then the attacks and disappearances begin, and Dunn starts to grasp how very wrong he was...

A fantastically chilling middle-grade novel about cursed mirrors, perfect for fans of Gloam and The Haunting of Aveline Jones!



Darren Simpson is the critically acclaimed author of Scavengers, The Memory Thieves, Furthermoor and Thirst. His award-winning books have been translated into several languages and he's been nominated twice for the prestigious Carnegie Medal. He also once won a budgie at school. Darren lives with his wife and sons in Nottingham and loves long walks with headphones, playing the drums and reading in bed on rainy Sunday mornings.



- Praise for Thirst



This creepy, compelling YA folk horror boasts a transporting sense of ritual and place



Thirst draws on folk horror, with its focus on the evil that men do in service of tradition and superstition, and combines it with quintessential coming-of-age quandaries... Creepy and thought-provoking



Gripping, gruesome, dark and dripping



What a story! Properly creepy Wicker Man vibes with seemingly effortless world building and characters you'll take to your heart. Loved it



A gripping tale infused with dark secrets and superstitions



This gruesomely imagined folk horror is the most brilliantly dark and dangerously fun book I've read all year. Darren's wonderful writing and inventive world-building drag you in and pull you under. It's so compelling you just have to go with the flow, and hope. There's no escaping the chilling horror.



Wow! This gloriously dark tale about an insatiable blood-thirsty river and the town held within its grip had me at the first chapter!