The first book in the bestselling BATTLE OF THE BEETLES series – perfect for fans of Roald Dahl! Winner of the Branford Boase Award Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize Shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Children's Book Award Chosen for the Tom Fletcher Book Club 'Truly great storytelling.' MICHAEL MORPURGO 'Funny, exciting and genuinely eccentric' PHILIP REEVE 'Roald Dahl meets 101 Dalmatians in a rollicking ride, full of adventure with vivid characters' EXPRESS 'By the end, you'll think beetles are the coolest creatures on the planet' TOM FLETCHER Darkus can't believe his eyes when a huge insect drops out of the trouser leg of his horrible new neighbour. It's a giant beetle – and it seems to want to communicate. But how can a boy be friends with a beetle? And what does a beetle have to do with the disappearance of his dad and the arrival of Lucretia Cutter, with her taste for creepy jewellery? The first book in MG Leonard's acclaimed trilogy, followed by Beetle Queen and Battle of the Beetles! Featuring exotic beetles, a daring quest, a mixture of bold male and female characters and a truly venomous villain Includes brilliant illustrations by Julia Sardà From the author of Hunt for the Golden Scarab, Twitch and the Adventure on Trains series, co-written with Sam Sedgman