The Lurkers - Charles Butler

Charles Butler's brand new book, The Lurkers (out October 27th) is a disturbing tale of a group of strange and dangerous beings who have no physical presence in our world, apart from one, named Galder, who is only half in our world. When Verity sees a weird semi-visible figure near her brother John, one day he tells her that it is a harmless Lurker. He likes Galder, who gives him everything he wants whether it's a bigger bedroom, Bristol Rovers winning a football semi-final 6 - 1 against Chelsea, or a host of school friends visiting and praising John.

However, the Lurkers are far from harmless; they feed on the human imagination and Galder is using John's brilliant young mind to become more solid and independent. Galder and his fellow alien beings intend to take over the minds of humanity, so they starting infecting people with the belief that the End Is Nigh in order to take control of them. Only Verity can stand against the Lurkers, because she cannot lie, even to herself, as her name belies her nature. But is Verity's knowledge of what the Lurkers intend sufficient for her to save not only her brother, but everyone else as well ?

I found this book very hard to put down - as is always the case with Butler's books. He writes totally believable characters and tense, intriguing narratives that make me want to sit and read non-stop. You can read the first chapter at the Usborne website but be warned, one chapter will not be enough...