In the spring of 1891, thirteen-year-old Sam Silverthorne is left in the care of his heartless Aunt Bertha as his father, Sir Arthur Silverthorne, Ornithologist to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, sets out on an expedition to find the infamous silver bird of paradise. But when Sir Arthur disappears without a trace, Sam runs away and embarks on a journey to find him. Nothing could prepare Sam for the dangerious, violent and unpredictable world that awaits him and the search for his father quickly becomes a fight for his own life.

 

There are 238 pages in this book. This book was published 2010 by Hachette Australia .

Gary Crew is well known for his rich, multi-layered and intensely suspenseful bestselling novels for young adults. Four times the winner of the CBC Book of the Year Award, as well as other numerous awards, Gary was a high school English teacher for eighteen years, before turning to university lecturing and full-time writing. He lives in Queensland.