It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
Missing Person

Missing Person

Summary

The house in Caulfield Place, off Browning Street in Walworth, was haunted, or at least that's what the street kids said. So when two men, a woman, and a parrot moved in, everyone was very interested, especially fourteen-year-old Cassie Ford, who was particularly fascinated by the parrot. And it was just about this time that Mr Finch, Chinese Lady's husband, and Boots's stepfather, began to get mysterious telephone calls. Mr Finch had never told the rest of the Adams family - except for Boots - the secrets of his past, or what kind of work he did for the government, and he decided not to tell them about the slightly sinister telephone calls either. It was when he took Chinese Lady on a summer's day jaunt in his Morris motorcar that things began to happen. For, in the Hog's Back Hotel, Chinese Lady went to the cloakroom, and when she came back Mr Finch had vanished. It took all of Boots's ingenuity to discover what had happened, and Cassie's knowledge of the Caulfield Place parrot was to prove a vital clue in unravelling the mystery.

About the author

Mary Jane Staples

Mary Jane Staples was born, bred and educated in Walworth, and was the author of many bestselling novels including the ever-popular cockney sagas featuring the Adams family. She died in 2005.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more