This is a series for Scholastic by Gabrielle Lord. The first book, January, actually arrived in October or November, and now there’s one every month for the rest of this year. We already have standing orders for every book in the series, an indication that it will probably become more popular as word-of-mouth recommendations take off. Often series start slowly in terms of sales, but pick up momentum as more books are published. In the first book the premise was set up: Callum Ormond is chased by a staggering, sick man who tells him that, “They killed your father. They’ll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days.” It’s a thriller mystery with chases, violence, doubts and fears, so not for the faint-hearted, but it’s very exciting, and there are add-ons like a website where Callum blogs. Each book (so far) is under 200 pages,  with a largish font, numbered from back to front to reinforce the countdown aspect of the plot, and it’s written like a diary with chapter headings for days and subheadings for times within the days. The plot certainly thunders along and there’s plenty of tension, with each book (so far again) finishing on a cliffhanger moment. I think the series will appeal to quite a few who are not regular readers, so it’s well worth a try if you have a slightly reluctant reader who finds many books a little slow.