The Peacock Detectives

Shortlisted for the 2017 Text Prize

*Today would have been an ordinary Saturday, except that two things happened:

1. The peacocks escaped
   and
2. I started writing this story.
   Dad says if you want to write a story you should start by choosing a topic that you know a lot about. That's why this is a story about peacocks. I know a lot about peacocks because:
   (a) Two peacocks live in the holiday flats across the road from me
   and
   (b) I'm good at finding them when they go missing.*

The last time William Shakespeare and Virginia went missing Cassie found them sitting on a coiled hose behind the fire station, and Dad called her 'Cassie Andersen, Peacock Detective'. So this time she knows what to do—she'll look for clues and track them down. But the clues lead her in an unexpected direction and Cassie finds herself investigating a confusing mystery about her family.

The Peacock Detectives is a warm and engaging story for middle-grade readers about dealing with change and finding out who you are.

Carly Nugent lives in Bright in Victoria. Her short fiction has featured in numerous publications, including the Bellevue Literary Review and Award Winning Australian Writing. The Peacock Detectives is her first novel.

'Heartfelt and funny...Carly Nugent's debut is a lively and generous story that acknowledges the powerful feelings of its readers, and the space they occupy in the world.' Books+Publishing

'Nugent gently explores issues of depression...and brings the whole adventure satisfyingly around with a delightful peacock discovery.' SA Weekend