The Ghost Gambit – Lily Ash Book Two
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The second nail-biting instalment of these historical supernatural novels for young people is due to be published in November 2026.
Some gifts can feel like a curse
England 1931
After proving her psychic abilities in Crete’s ancient ruins, Lily returns home to some unpleasant surprises.
Through London’s museums stacked with treasure, she searches for a way to destroy the fatal Egyptian curse threatening her family.
But powerful beings, both dead and alive, are closing in.
Spirits of the Underworld require her worship.
Elite members of the Ghost Club test her powers.
A spy watches her every move.
Luckily by her side is an expert in strategy.
Will that be enough to keep her safe?
Aimed at readers aged 12+ The Ghost Gambit is ideal for lovers of ancient treasure, haunted houses and vintage crime. If you’ve ever wondered if there’s a ghost in your basement, what lives in the Egyptian Underworld, or how to escape from a spy on a train – this is the book for you!
One of the most fascinating real people you’ll meet in this book is Miss Vera Francevna Menchik – the Chess Women’s World Champion. Having escaped from the Russian Revolution, Miss Menchik arrived in London and proceeded to win competition after competition, taking on both men and women. In The Ghost Gambit she is Lily’s new governess, and quite handy in a tight spot!
You will also meet the terrible crocodile demon Ammut again, (who will consume Uncle Leonard if Lily is killed) and the Egyptian God Thoth, who presides over the weighing of souls in the Hall of Judgement. Lily visits the Egyptian Underworld several times, and wishes she hadn’t!
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Another new character is Sir Wallis Budge – for many years Keeper of Antiquities at the British Museum and one of the most prolific looters and smugglers of antiquities in the late 19th & early 20th centuries.
Wallis Budge was also involved with a very unusual London organisation – The Ghost Club – which for many years investigated paranormal phenomena. (The Ghost Club still exists today after a hiatus from 1936 - 1962) Some of its most well known members included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens. I had the privilege of reading through some of the Ghost Club Archive in the British Library. It was fascinating!
