Darkus's dad is missing - vanished from a locked room in the Natural History Museum. The police are baffled; how can someone disappear without a trace? Moving in with his eccentric uncle, Darkus discovers a new friend in a giant beetle - and it wants to communicate. But can a boy and a beetle be friends? And can they find Darkus's dad together? The first book in MG Leonard's acclaimed trilogy, followed by Beetle Queen and Battle of the Beetles! Featuring exotic beetles, a daring quest, a mixture of bold male and female characters and a truly venomous villain Includes brilliant illustrations by Julia Sarda From the author of Hunt for the Golden Scarab, Twitch and the Adventure on Trains series, co-written with Sam Sedgman