Lori wants to be a detective, but so far the most exciting mystery she has solved is the disappearance of her nan's specs down the side of the sofa. Max is the new girl at school and Lori is asked to look after her. Max is odd. She doesn't fit in - but then, Lori realises, she doesn't really fit in either. When some charity money goes missing and Max disappears, Lori seems to be the only person who doesn't think Max has stolen it and run away. Even the police don't want to investigate and suddenly Lori finds she has a real crime on her hands.

A stolen phone and an unruly dog; a buried lunchbox and an antique children's book. Unlikely young detectives Lori and Max must dig through layers of lies to solve two mysteries.

The 1980s: Ten-year-old Kate Meaney - with her 'Top Secret' notebook and Mickey her toy monkey - is busy being a junior detective. She observes goings-on and follows 'suspects' at the newly opened Green Oaks shopping centre and in her street, where she is friends with the newsagent's son, Adrian. But when this curious, independent-spirited young girl disappears, Adrian falls under suspicion and is hounded out of his home by the press. Then, in 2004, Lisa is working as a deputy manager at Your Music, a cut-price record store. Every day, under the watchful eye of the CCTV, she tears her hair out at the behaviour of her customers and colleagues. But when she meets security guard Kurt, she becomes entranced by the little girl he keeps glimpsing on the centre's CCTV. As their after-hours friendship intensifies, they investigate how these sightings might be connected to the unsettling history of Green Oaks.

Mr Lynch's Holiday is the new comic novel by Catherine O'Flynn, the bestselling and prize-winning author of What Was Lost and The News Where You Are. 'I'm looking forward to seeing you and Laura and getting my first taste of "abroad".' Eamonn Lynch stares at the letter announcing his father's imminent arrival. His first thought: I'll make an excuse, I'll put him off. But it's too late. Laura has left, and Dermot is already here, a fresh arrival from Ireland to southern Spain. Now it's just the two of them, father and son, for two long, hot weeks. Neither knows quite what to make of the other. But as they are swept up in the British expats' ceaseless barbecuing and bickering, they begin to discover the truth about why each left home and about the family past. At the same time they uncover a shocking, unacknowledged secret at the heart of this defiant but beleaguered community. Mr Lynch's Holiday is the moving story of a father and son pushed together in sunny Spain. With warmth and wit it is about the clash of generations; about how families fracture and heal themselves; and about how living "abroad" can be less like a holiday and more like a life sentence. 'An awesomely talented writer' Jonathan Coe 'Delightful ... a rare love story between a father and a son' Sunday Telegraph 'Subtle, clever and thoroughly enjoyable' Sunday Mirror 'A remarkable and original writer ... tenderness, warmth, thoughtfulness and comic genius are words that are flung around a lot, but it's more than that. She flinches at nothing and is as sharp as dammit' Fay Weldon, Observer 'A flow of laugh-aloud satire ... sharp enough to rank her with Mark Haddon and Marina Lewckya' Independent on Sunday on The News Where You Are Catherine O'Flynn was born in 1970 and raised in Birmingham, the youngest of six children. Her debut novel, What Was Lost, won the Costa First Novel Award, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and was longlisted for the Booker and Orange Prizes. Her second novel, The News Where You Are, was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize and an Edgar Allen Poe Award.

From the bestselling author of "What Was Lost" comes a spirited literary mystery about a television anchorman's search for the truth about the disappearances that surround him

Frank Allcroft, a television news anchor in his hometown (where he reports on hard-hitting events, like the opening of canine gyms for overweight pets), is on the verge of a mid-life crisis. Beneath his famously corny on-screen persona, Frank is haunted by loss: the mysterious hit-and-run that killed his predecessor and friend, Phil, and the ongoing demolition of his architect father's monumental postwar buildings. And then there are the things he "can't" seem to lose, no matter how hard he tries: his home, for one, on the market for years; and the nagging sense that he will never quite be the son his mother--newly ensconced in an assisted-living center--wanted.

As Frank uncovers the shocking truth behind Phil's death, and comes to terms with his domineering father's legacy, it is his beloved young daughter, Mo, who points him toward the future. Funny and touching, "The News Where You Are" is a moving exploration of what we do and don't leave behind, proving once more that Catherine O'Flynn's writing "shimmers with dark brilliance" ("Chicago Tribune").

A tender and sharply observant debut novel about a missing young girl--winner of the Costa First Novel Award and long-listed for the Booker Prize, the Orange Prize, and "The Guardian" First Book Award

In the 1980s, Kate Meaney--"Top Secret" notebook and toy monkey in tow--is hard at work as a junior detective. Busy trailing "suspects" and carefully observing everything around her at the newly opened Green Oaks shopping mall, she forms an unlikely friendship with Adrian, the son of a local shopkeeper. But when this curious, independent-spirited young girl disappears, Adrian falls under suspicion and is hounded out of his home by the press.

Then, in 2003, Adrian's sister Lisa--stuck in a dead-end relationship--is working as a manager at Your Music, a discount record store. Every day she tears her hair out at the outrageous behavior of her customers and colleagues. But along with a security guard, Kurt, she becomes entranced by the little girl glimpsed on the mall's surveillance cameras. As their after-hours friendship intensifies, Lisa and Kurt investigate how these sightings might be connected to the unsettling history of Green Oaks itself. Written with warmth and wit, "What Was Lost" is a haunting debut from an incredible new talent.