As tomorrow is the day for Australia’s premier racing event, the Melbourne Cup. I thought it might be fun to look back at my middle-grade historical novel, The Phar Lap Mystery, which was published in 2010 by Scholastic Australia. It’s a story set in 1931, and is a fun historical mystery centred around 11 year old Sally Fielding and her private detective dad Charlie as they investigate attacks on the great racehorse Phar Lap in Melbourne. There, they get to know the champion horse and the people around him, and follow his journey until it ends in tragedy way over the seas, in the United States…

I loved writing this book, and it found its way to many readers’ hearts. It’s out of print now but you can still get it second-hand. And you can also watch the little video I made about it back then, complete with actual photos from the time and a great soundtrack!