Text have started an annual prize to be awarded to an outstanding unpublished manuscript, aiming to discover wonderful new books for young adults and children by Australian and New Zealand writers. The Billionaire's Curse is the first winner.
From the Blurb:
Gerald has become the richest thirteen-year-old on the planet. The world's most valuable diamond has been stolen, and it seems there has been a murder. Now Gerald's life is in danger.
Opening Lines:
'Nothing ... is ... certain!'
Gerald raised his head at the blood-freezing roar that boomed through the dank dungeon tunnels.
Someone has stolen the world’s most valuable diamond and a constable lies unconscious in the British Museum, two sedative darts protruding from his backside.
Not something Gerald Wilkins knows or cares anything about.
Not until he finds himself on a private luxury jet heading for London to attend the funeral of a great aunt he has never met. Not until he inherits her estate, worth twenty billion pounds. Not until he opens a bundle of envelopes from his dead great aunt.
Was she murdered? Who stole the diamond? And what is the mysterious casket that everyone seems to be looking for?
With the help of the Valentine twins, the rat-fearing Sam and the gymnastic champ Ruby, Gerald’s got a mystery to solve. A mystery that will take them into secret passageways, a musty bookshop, an ancient crypt, a ruined tower and a colossal cavern where the secret of a priceless treasure lie