A novel by Rosa Pendarves COMING
A TV treasure hunter arrives with sonar, a camera crew and a very white smile. If the Gwennol's secrets belong to anyone, they belong to Polperran — and the children must get there first, fairly.
In The Wreck Detectorist, Polperran’s harbour is buzzing when a television treasure hunter sweeps in with sonar, a camera crew and a smile bright enough for the weather forecast. He has his eye on the Gwennol, and on whatever secrets she may still be keeping. For the children, the question is not simply whether they can get there first, but whether they can do it fairly — and for Polperran.
Readers aged 9–12 will enjoy a mystery that feels brisk, salty and just risky enough, with the satisfaction of clues weighed against conscience. Rosa Pendarves writes with a lively read-aloud rhythm and a dry Cornish twinkle, giving capable readers plenty to puzzle over without tipping into darkness. The peril sits in the pressure of being watched, hurried and outshone — reassuringly balanced by friendship, clear values and the pull of home.
As part of The Polperran Mysteries, The Wreck Detectorist lets older children meet the village at an age when fairness, ownership and the past begin to feel complicated. It shares the wider Little Chough Press promise that readers grow up alongside Polperran: the sea, the lanes and the close-knit community remain familiar, while each novel opens a bigger question about how to care for the place that made you.