Girl In The Attic, by Dan Djurdjevic

‘She’d checked her room three times and yes, the lock on her door was fastened .. She was safe. She finally felt her self drifting off to sleep. Until she heard a cough – a girl’s cough- coming from the attic.’

Rose’s dad started doing pointless things up there in his man-cave attic that didn’t even make the grim space more habitable. Then he quarreled with Rose and her mother and abruptly left home. That was three years ago. About then her mum started drinking. Rose herself has been shoplifting, taking useless things that she doesn’t even want. Even being punished by her mum by having to sleep up in the attic didn’t stop that urge. By the third offence Rose is in big trouble with the judge. She is forced to see a pyschiatrist as part of the sentence and the shrink, though sympathetic, seems to be suggesting that something is very, very wrong with her.

Rose is scared. Scared of her lapses of memory about the hours when, according to the friends she is fast losing, she has behaved completely out of character. And she is scared of the sounds coming from the attic.

What is the secret of the attic?

In this easily readable, well paced novel, author Dan Djurdevic spans a number of ‘difficult issues’ confronted by young people – and by older ones! Compulsive behaviours such as gambling, getting tangled up in the justice system, being harshly judged by friends and badly treated by employers, feeling that no one is listening to you, no one believes in you. But these matters don’t bog you down. Rather, in this story, they flow into each other, all necessary elements of the mystery that keeps you reading on. I am so tempted to add a spoiler somewhere here, even a little one. But with restraint I will simply say – you don’t get your resolution until the last page! Read on.

From the back cover: A young adult mystery that explores themes of compulsive behaviour, addiction, the importance of family, the nature of chance and how choices shape your destiny.

Where to find this book
BookDepository (also with free shipping): Girl In The Attic.
Amazon: Girl In The Attic (Note that you can read this for free with Kindle Unlimited membership just now).

More mysteries from Dan Djurdevic:
Bookdepository and with free shipping:
A Hazy Shade of Twilight, The Mirror Image of Sound, Nights of The Moon , The Shadow of Dusk .
Amazon: The Mirror Image of Sound, Nights of The Moon, The Shadow of Dusk.

You can also find them at AbeBooks.com: there is a general link below.

My review of The Mirror Image Of Sound is here.

Mark is guardian and blundering typist for Mawson, one of this bright world’s few published bears.