Joanne Skerrett

This novel for young people (11 years and up) is a terrific adventure story set on the Caribbean island of Dominica.

Teenage twins, James and Jerome, discover that some treasure, buried during the days of slavery, is their rightful inheritance. As the boys de-code the clues that will lead to the treasure, they have some strange encounters: there's a helpful parrot, a ghostly figure from the past and a legless man who can walk; they escape from a falling tower and discover a boiling lake. And, of course, there's also an evil stranger who confronts them in the exciting climax.

Author Joanne Skerrett was born and brought up in Dominica. She moved with her family to the United States as a teenager where she went to university, became a journalist, trained as a lawyer and now lives and works in Washington DC. This is her fourth novel but her first book for young people.

She says: "My hope is that the story will encourage kids and other readers to engage their imagination and also to treasure the truly wonderful gift of their heritage wherever they are from."

Polly Pattullo of Papillote Press says: "I am delighted to be publishing Abraham's Treasure. From my first reading of the manuscript, I was struck by its 'page-turning' quality - and by the hints of magical realism. I love the way that that the twins are typical 14-year-olds who have this very untypical adventure in the wild Dominican landscape."

Papillote Press specialises in books about Dominica and by Dominicans.
Abraham's Treasure
Price: £6.99 ISBN: 9780953222483
UK publication date: November 1 2011