One eerie night in Van Diemen’s Land, Mollie Harper gets lost in the heart of the forest. A pack of ensorcelled tiger-wolves pick up her scent, and the hunt begins. Just as the lead female springs to pounce on the terrified girl, someone—or something—intervenes, accidentally and irreversibly shrinking Mollie into a wee being and wiping her memory. The Keepers’ son bumbled his magic, but he saved the girl.
The Keepers, a family of magical wee caretakers, take Mollie in, quickly discovering even a pint-sized human complicates and endangers their simple lives. Ever feeling out of place, Mollie and her owl sidekick Boobook, set off to George Town, in search of the home she can’t remember.
Mollie is unaware she’s being tracked and lured into a maze of faerie traps by a wee-game trophy huntress. This ruthless collector travels the world to snare specimens for her macabre collection of fey creatures, which she pickles and catalogues with ruthless precision. She’ll stop at nothing—enchanting tiger-wolves, enslaving an army of bats, even blackmailing blundering hob-bogans into doing her dirty work.
Finders, Keepers winks at the traditional fairy tale The Cobbler and the Elves while offering a uniquely Australian adventure. Set in 19th Century Van Diemen’s Land (aka Tasmania), it could be described as The Wizard of Oz meets Doctor Doolittle with a dash of Green Mansions. Young readers will love the spooky, wriggle-in-your-seat tension, the fabulous fey beings and adorable animal characters, and, of course, the very complex, clinically evil huntress.
A teaser to savour:
Ever wondered what happened to Tasmanian Tigers? Are they really extinct? Well, have I got a story for you!
In Finders Keepers, I call them tigerwolves. They are (IMHO) far more lupine or canine than feline, as the name tiger suggests. Check out the image and decide for yourself. Incidentally, the correct name for this mysterious marsupial is thylacine.
Alison Stegert 