The Magic Hour

Set in Edinburgh this magical adventure cleverly weaves in Scottish folklore with science.

Ailsa Craig lives one week with her mother and one week with her father.  She is never on time for anything, but it was lucky she wasn’t on time one particular New Year’s even when her father’s house exploded.  This unexplained event sets in motion an extraordinary chain of events.

On her way to visit her father one evening, Ailsa finds herself drawn back to the remains of her old house.   She is looking for a steamer trunk her beloved astronomer grandmother had bequeathed to her. But instead of finding the trunk she discovers the words EVERY SECOND COUNTS carved into the inside of a rowan tree split in two by the explosion.  Startled by a sinister growl she dives into her father’s still standing shed and stumbles into an extraordinary parallel Edinburgh where there are 25 hours in every day.

The extra hour makes all the difference and Ailsa find she is no longer late and is doing so much better at school.  She has even become friends with the most popular girl at school, Credenza, who has always shunned her before but who Alisa discovers is also using the Magic Hour.

But the more Ailsa visits the strange town, Middlemarket, for her extra hour, the more she realises something is not quite right.  Taught to look at every problem with a scientific method by her grandmother Alisa applies this reasoning to Middlemarch and soon discovers that there is a terrible price to pay for this Magic Hour. It will be up to Ailsa and her friends to solve the mystery of who is behind these nefarious activities.

This is an imaginative and fast-paced exploration of the nature of time– why there is never enough of it and how we should use it wisely.  It is also a story showing that actions always have consequences and that the unshakeable bonds of family hold power.

The story ends somewhat abruptly but sets the scene for the sequel.