Since Pippa's sudden death her twins, Sylvia and Cassia, have been acting strangely. They started appearing in their father's bedroom at night claiming there was a man in their room. Alfie immediately checked their room and the whole house but there was nobody there. He thought the girls must be having nightmares and allowed them to sleep with him. This went on for many night then stopped just as suddenly when the twins claimed to have a new friend called Black Mamba. Alfie tells his mother-in-law and sister-in-law but neither tell him that they'd heard the name before. It seems that Pippa and her twin sister, Julia, also had a similar experience and they are filled with dread at what might transpire. Black Mamba by William Friend grabs the reader right from the first page and I can't wait to read what transpires next. This is the brilliant first novel by a young man who clearly has a promising future as an author.