Let's Kill Uncle (The Bloomsbury Group) [Paperback]

'A dark, whimsical, startling book, far ahead of its time' Donna Tartt 'There must be a reason we have never heard of Rohan O'Grady for all these years -- but I cannot find it in the pages of Let's Kill Uncle. A thrilling, original book, exquisitely written, and unforgettable -- a classic, rediscovered' Hanan al-Shaykh 'Playfully sinister' Washington Post 'Excellent story, told with much charm' Evening Standard

When recently-orphaned Barnaby Gaunt is sent to stay with his uncle on a beautiful remote island off the coast of Canada, he is all set to have the perfect summer holiday. Except for one small problem: his uncle is trying to kill him. Heir to a ten-million-dollar fortune, Barnaby tries to tell everyone and anyone that his uncle is after his inheritance, but no one will believe him. That is, until he tells the only other child on the island, Christie, who concludes that there is only one way to stop his demonic uncle: Barnaby will just have to kill him first. With the unexpected help of One-Ear, the aged cougar who has tormented the island for years, Christie and Barnaby hatch a fool-proof plan. Playful, dark and witty, Let's Kill Uncle is a surprising tale of two ordinary children who conspire to execute an extraordinary murder - and get away with it.

Rohan O'Grady is the pseudonym for June Margaret O'Grady who was born in Vancouver in 1922. O'Grady began writing poetry and stories as a young child and ventured into full length fiction in her late thirties after her marriage to newspaper editor Frederick Skinner. By 1963, O'Grady had published three novels in three years, O'Houlihan's Jest in 1961, Pippin's Journal in 1962, and Let's Kill Uncle in 1963. The latter two books were illustrated by Edward Gorey. In 1966, William Castle directed the Hollywood horror movie Let's Kill Uncle starring Nigel Green and Mary Badham (the young star of To Kill a Mockingbird). Several unproduced screenplays and two novels followed: Bleak November in 1970 and The Mayspoon in 1981. June Skinner has resided in West Vancouver since 1959.