The Mafia Rats is the most hotly anticipated and sensational book to hit the British shelves. Branded already a modern classic, this completely original book is like nothing you have ever read before. Intelligent, vibrant and teeming with the creatures and wildlife indigenous to Britain, this is aimed for children and adults alike and will be missed at your peril. Enjoy and suffer as the extraordinary world of amazing creatures opens before your eyes. Shy away from the millions of hideously evil, filthy, filching, fiendish Mafia rats and their fantastically corrupt Protection Racket; pity the opium-sodden Bumblebee; laugh at the monocled Toad; empathise with the gentle Squirrels and listen to the wisdom of the revered Old Owl as the evanescent emanation of the Master of Maleficium permeates the book, where life to him matters not one jot. Celebrate the Astonishing Ball (nature at its best) and witness the agonising deaths in the Terrible Battle (nature at its worst); despise the Cult of the disaffected young; admire the brave Honey Bees and sympathise with the lone ‘142857’ - just one more Drone from the Hive. Weep for the Grand Duke Badger and his seditious book and his tragedy that strikes in the first chapter and pray for his hopes for the future of his kind, tied up in the fate of the garrulous and feckless Prince Brocco, oblivious to most things round him. Despise the Geese; learn from the Guard Rabbits; abhor the Siamese Cat and dread the might of the Soldier Ants, Soldier Beetles, Stag Beetles and the Soldier-flies. Feel for the old Tortoise, identify with the revengeful Spiders and chuckle at the poor, truncated Brandling Worm. Then fear the sinister manufacture of the deadly poisons of the Specially-Bred Mosquitoes; the smugness of the Eucalyptus Spiders and the bravery of one young Rat, whilst all the time marvel at the tenacity of Straggly the Witch, trying to fulfil her promise to the Grand Duke Badger in her quest to find Magus the Magician, the Protector of the Courts. All the creatures you can think of adorn these pages and have a part to play. The Hawks, the Bats, the Paper Wasps, the Otters, the Damsel-flies, the Cockroaches and all the sinister Cavernophiles; one Albino Rat - there is betrayal, revenge, a second betrayal, a deception, an entreaty, a humiliation and joyous celebrations.

There is much here for the intellectual in the double meanings and it will be like nothing you have seen before, creatures swimming before your eyes, their world, their hopes and fears … and their destiny …

THE MAFIA RATS - Claire Knox’s first book, is set in the gardens of Buckingham Palace (where else?) and details the fearful conflict between Straggly the Witch and the malevolent Mafia Rats. The natural world of small animals and exuberant plants is illustrated by the author in ravishing line-drawings. This epic story combines the scope of Tolkein or Pullman with the whimsical wizardry of Rowling, but it has an atmosphere all its own. You may never read an adventure story, equally suitable for adults and children, as compelling as The Mafia Rats - until, maybe, you decide you must read it a second time. DAVID BENEDICTUS 2014 - playwright and author of many books including Return To Hundred Acre Wood (Winnie The Pooh) for children.