Through the Eyes of a Raptor

Book excerpt: Orphaned upon her mother's death, thirteen-year-old Kelly MacBride is sent to live with a mysterious grandmother whose Highland estate whispers with intrigue. Aided by Gordie, an obsessive bagpiper with a penchant for Shakespeare and mischief, Kelly deciphers riddles penned in ancient runes. These lead her to hidden tunnels and secret chambers where she chances upon a how-to guide on shape-shifting. But plots lurk just out of view-an attack on the manor's working dogs, a midnight ambush, and a poisoning threaten the manor's safety. Shape-shifting might help Kelly identify the source of the danger, but as a mouse she can't run without tripping on her tail; in squirrel form she finds herself fifty feet in the air without a branch to cling to; and she learns just how blind bats are when she forgets to engage her echolocation. Can she get it right in time? Set in the Highlands of Scotland, Through the Eyes of a Raptor weaves Celtic myth and Scottish culture around questions of loyalty and betrayal, delivering a captivating tale of magic and suspense.