Luma the Sleepy Star
by John Capon
Will the smallest star find the courage to stay awake for the one who chose her?
Luma is the smallest star in the night sky, and she is always the first to get sleepy. When the moon rises and the world settles into blankets and yawns, she must find the courage to keep shining, even when her light wobbles and her eyes want to close. Down below, a little girl named Mira is watching, and she has already chosen Luma as her own.
From the editors
Ten years after a storm-lashed pier showdown, Kade's marks return
Frank Calder chased Adrian Kade across three states for ten years, until a storm-lashed night on a pier. A decade later, retired but still up before dawn, he returns to his old precinct as new murders start to mirror Kade's. With Mara beside him, he works the archive, the morgue and the weathered house of Kade's mother.
The prologue is a vivid set piece, with lightning that 'carved the world into stark white for a heartbeat.' Kade's gift, Frank thinks, is making a man feel predictable. A chamber of carved symbols at the end of a tunnel is genuinely eerie. Frank's unease at how easily he thinks like Kade gives the casework its chill.
It suits fans of serial-killer procedurals who want a long investigation and a hero who doubts his own mind.
Perfect for: Serial-killer procedurals · Haunted ex-detective heroes · Readers who like a copycat puzzle
27 pages
Read the opening
Every evening, when the moon rose and the world settled into yawns and blankets, Luma tried her very best to shine. She blinked once. . . twice. . . and then her light wobbled in the wind.
“Stay awake, little one,” the Moon whispered kindly. “The night needs your glow.” “I’m trying,” Luma murmured, her voice as small as a snowflake.
“But I’m just so. . . so. . . snoozy.” The other stars twinkled in encouragement. “You can do it, Luma,” they chimed. “Just a little sparkle.” So Luma took a deep breath — the kind that fills your whole chest with warm, sleepy air — and she shone.
It wasn’t very bright, but it was soft and gentle, like the glow of a nightlight in a child’s room. Down below, a little girl named Mira looked out her window.
The sample pages on this site continue the opening — and the full book is available in print.
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