A tale of loss that is also a gripping thriller, a realistic study of grief that skirts the margins of fantasy, it walks wolf-like between worlds and genres.

Richard Lambert writes with a poet's eye; he has created something magical here.

The storytelling is as bold, sinewy and uncompromising as the beast that shadows Lucas in the mountains above his home.

This is a wonderful read and the advent of an exciting new voice in children's fiction.