Mark Walden's first book, H.I.V.E., won Richard and Judy's 'Best Kids' Books Ever' 9+ category. Paramount has optioned the film rights, and it was chosen as one of ten titles for Booktrust's first Booked Up scheme. Mark has followed this success with five further titles in the extraordinarily brilliant H.I.V.E. series and as a WBD author for 2009. He lives with his family in Hampshire.

Pupils and staff at H.I.V.E. are horrified to discover that Dr Nero has been captured by the forces of H.O.P.E., the Hostile Operative Prosecution Executive, the world's newest and most ruthlessly efficient security force. Three months pass without any news of his fate, and Number One has decided to appoint a sinister new headmistress for the school, somebody that the pupils and staff had thought that they'd seen the last of.

Meanwhile Otto is also struggling to cope with new abilities that are starting to manifest themselves; can he really be unconsciously interfacing with computers without physical contact? And if he is, what exactly do these new powers really mean?

The only way to find Nero and the truth behind the lies is to escape H.I.V.E.. Otto must get out, and take the risks which come with being a rogue agent. Then he just has to break into MI6.

Praise for the H.I.V.E. series:

'A comedy thriller, full of baddies, action and lashings of humour'

'An exhuberant Dahl-esque escapade'

'Exciting, clever and all in all brilliant'

A white-knuckle, villainous, gadget-fest of brilliance.

'Twenty times better than [the leading brand]' Richard and Judy judges