Release: Mid-2026
The Shell Secret is a middle grade, classic adventure story with a detective feel.
The Shell Secret will be published by Candy Jar Books around June 2026 time. There will be some exclusive edition copies available from their online shop.
The Shell Secret
For 11-year-old budding detective Alice Clark, summers in Trevellen used to mean roaming the beaches and rockpools, collecting shells with her sister, Poppy.
But this year is different. A year after Poppy’s death, Alice returns alone—determined to build a shell memorial in her honour, and desperate to ensure her sister is never, ever forgotten.
Forbidden from visiting the beach by herself, Alice reluctantly strikes a deal with Jasper—the annoying boy who’s just moved in next door.
But the arrangement quickly becomes more complicated than she expects.
Drawn into the heart of a sinister World War II mystery, Alice and Jasper find themselves in real danger, unearth a shocking family secret, and risk losing the one thing Alice came back to Trevellen to protect.
The Shell Secret is set in the recent past in Cornwall. The Shell Secret sees thirteen year old Alice reluctantly pulled into an adventure by the boy next door, whilst trying to unravel her own family’s secrets and deal with the death of her younger sister.
What do you do if no one will talk about your sister’s death and you fear it’s your fault? An unlikely pact with the boy next door and a wartime secret give thirteen-year-old Alice chance to find the answers she needs.
Every summer 13-year-old Alice goes to Trevellen to stay with her grandparents. This year, however, things are going to be tough. She’s forbidden from visiting the beach alone and no one wants to talk about the day Poppy died. Worse still, Alice’s friend, Fi, has moved away and an irritating boy called Jasper now lives next door.
She secretly visits the beach where she last saw Poppy alive and still collects her favourite periwinkle shells. When the boy next door persuades Alice to help him uncover the story behind a German WW2 gun, she discovers the strength to demand answers of her own.
The story spans three generations of the Clark family and has at its heart the themes of friendship, secrets and family bonds.
