The town of Valesti was once rumoured to be the home to a family of twelve vampires who wreaked havoc on the towns people. Until, that is, hunters came to kill them all. At least, they thought they'd killed them all . . .

Years later, the rumours are mostly forgotten but some persist - especially those around Castle Bezna , where a mysterious countess lives. Over the years, the countess has enlisted village girls to be her companions, but none of the girls have returned. But when a girl named Vivi decides that the promise of an education and boarding is too great an opportunity to turn down, she packs up her belongings and starts work in the dusty old castle.

But soon Vivi starts to wonder if the legend of the thirteenth vampire could be true. Can she prove the vampires existence, or will she join the long list of girls never to return from Castle Bezna...?

Alice Hemming lives in Hertfordshire, UK with her husband and two children. When she’s not visiting schools, she works in a writing shed at the top of her garden, where she can immerse herself in the world of her stories.

The activity pack includes an exclusive signed book plate, stickers, book club-style questions to ponder and a welcome note from Alice Hemming. There’s also a word search to solve and a recipe for a delicious plum dumplings, alongside jokes and further reading recommendations.

Activity packs are a handy A5 size and printed on uncoated paper which is fully recyclable.

We dispatch orders Monday - Friday.

• Standard UK Royal Mail delivery £2.99 (free on orders over £25)
• UK Express delivery also available from £5.50
• International shipping available to select destinations (calculated at checkout according to weight)

Our packs are wrapped in a simple paper sleeve and sent out in a cardboard book wrap – we would be so grateful if you could recycle both.

More information on shipping

We don't include any paperwork in our parcels so you can send our book gifts directly to the recipient with confidence.

We'll happily add a handwritten note to your order. Simply leave your message in the box on the cart page.

This pack is also available as part of a gift set:

Our gift set collection

You may also like to browse our greeting cards & gift wrap

We are a monthly book subscription by post for children aged 5 to 14, focused on helping families discover new and different chapter books.

This title was sent to subscribers in the Macaw reading group, aged roughly 12 to 14, who need books that feel grown-up but aren’t quite ready for all young adult books.