When seventeen-year-old Natalie Porter finds a treasure chest belonging to her dead mother hidden away in the attic, she follows the clues inside and discovers her mother's death was never actually confirmed. Ten years ago she simply disappeared, leaving behind a mysterious charm necklace. Longing to learn more about her mother, and finding herself fascinated by the odd charm, Natalie claims the necklace. It quickly becomes apparent she's not the only one interested in her mother's disappearance. When Natalie finds herself pursued she hides, still clutching the charm, and is shocked to find herself transported to a place called Brookland. Brookland, once a lush, green land full of magic, has been drained of life and turned into a blackened wasteland by Queen Casias, a woman obsessed only with her own wealth and power. To Natalie's horror, not only does the queen know she's here, but she's been searching for the necklace for the past ten years. And now she knows who has it. If Natalie doesn't keep the charm out of the queen's grasp, she'll use it to spread her twisted darkness into the human world, destroying everything in her path.

Geoff and Naomi are dead, and they're depressed, but when Geoff's cat Bernie dies as well, they embark on a wild journey to find it in the underworld. ***** When Geoff dies, alongside his girlfriend Naomi, they end up sharing an apartment in the Underworld as skeletons. But after a few years, Geoff starts suffering a mid-death crisis. What's the purpose of going through the motions as a skeleton if you can't really live? Then he gets word that his cat, Bernie, just died and he can collect him and bring him home! Geoff and Naomi hurry to get Bernie only to discover that, due to a clerical error, their cat has been lost. With the hunt for Bernie giving new purpose to Geoff's un-life, he and Naomi begin a quest to get back their cat. Battling skeleton pirates, climbing the sky ladder and facing off against the villain who took Bernie, Geoff is determined to find his purpose - or die a second time trying! [[2018 Wattys Winner - The Originals]] [[word count: 30,000-40,000 words]]