by Boucherat, Max | Interest age: from c 8 years Published 02/07/2026 by HarperCollins Publishers (HarperCollins) in the United Kingdom Paperback | 288 pages197 x 141 x 31mm | 336gAn exciting, funny, eerie, and deeply moving one-of-a-kind adventure – the extraordinary follow up to The Last Life of Lori Mills. Eleven-year-old Lori is home alone for the FIRST TIME EVER in her life – yet she can’t shake the sensation that things feel too familiar for comfort. Like this isn’t the first time she’s been left alone. Like she has, in fact, experienced this exact same evening before. It’s not long before she pieces together the truth: that The Starlit King, a mysterious entity as old as galaxies, has trapped Lori and her BFF, Shoelace, inside of a stormy November evening. That, for reasons of his own, he is forcing them to live the evening over and over and over. If Lori and Shoelace are to escape, they’re going to have to fight like never before: yet deep down, Lori knows that escape isn’t enough. That maybe the real reason she feels trapped isn’t because she’s stuck in time, but because of something else. Something huge. Something about Shoelace she can never admit out loud, or risk ruining things forever… Praise for The Last Life of Lori Mills: ‘Terrific – fun, funny, heartwarming, just the right shade of scary’ Derek Landy ‘A delightfully curious mix of unique, peculiar, creepy and heart melting. Truly unlike anything I’ve read before’ Hana Tooke Minecraft-meets-Lovecraft – genuinely creepy with a surprisingly heartwarming ending. But don't read it with the lights off…’ Alastair Chisholm ‘This book is brilliant. A fresh and exciting new voice … A properly pacy, heart-pounding sci-fi thriller, perfect for gamers. Read it with ALL the lights on!’ Rashmi Sirdeshpande 'It absolutely knocked my socks off … A fantastic, thrilling debut' Tamzin Merchant ‘Whip-smart and spine-tingingly scary … An absolute treat of a debut’ Laura Noakes 'A hair-raising adventure' Observer
