The Joshua Files 1: Invisible City

"As thrilling as a rollercoaster ride, this fantastical world of spies, spirits, ancient prophecies and hidden cities tests Josh to his limits..." The Booktrust, 2009 by "sci-fi author M.G. Harris, creator of the best-selling Joshua Files." Radio Times Magazine, 5th September 2013.

Josh's dad died in Mexico. He was supposed to be excavating ancient Mayan ruins.
So why was he flying an airplane, hundreds of miles from the site?
And did the UFOs sighted nearby have anything to do with his 'accident'?

Stuck at home with his grief-stricken mother, teenage Josh begins to uncover the truth. His father wasn't on just another archaeological dig. He was searching for a lost Mayan codex thought to contain a prophecy about the end of the world.

Somewhere in the world, Josh's research triggers an alarm.

Now Josh is being tracked by government agents and a hit man from a mysterious sect bent on bringing about a new world order. It all leads to a hidden city buried deep in the Mexican jungle, where an ancient civilization is waiting to be awoken.

Could the mysterious 'Ix Codex', missing for centuries, contain the secret to surviving a prophecy of apocalyptic doom?

Josh might be the only person alive who can find it - but there are forces out there who'll do anything to make the prophecy come true. Will Josh survive long enough to unravel the mystery of what happened to his dad?

Invisible City is the first in a 5-part series for readers who enjoyed tightly-plotted series for children and young adults, like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and The Maze Runner. A time-travel, code-cracking, action-packed adventure series and coming-of-age story originally published by Scholastic Children's Books UK and translated into 17 foreign languages.

Praise for Invisible City:

• "A splendid adventure story of UFOs, ancient Mayan documents and a lost city. The hero is eminently likeable, there is a splendid only-you-can-save-the-World denouement and you'll come away with a degree of esoteric knowledge about ancient Central America as well." Louisa Young, 23 March 2008, Mail on Sunday
• "A fast-paced, first-person thriller. Her book's Mexico setting is richly evoked, and its historical and conspiracy elements are convincingly delineated." James Lovegrove, 2 Feb 2008, Financial Times
• "A gripping survival story begins...a boy's fantasy of pyramids, caves and tunnels. Josh's quest for a long-lost Mayan text giving the key to salvation is bound up with his personal destiny in an unexpected way. But he is also, like all 13-year-olds, uncertain of what the future will bring. Harris cleverly captures this pivotal period." Carole Mansur, 15 March 2008, The Telegraph
• "Indiana Jones would have stiff competition in young Joshua Garcia... This series is destined to be a hit...the many mysteries and unanswered questions will have the reader begging for the rest of the series. Highly Recommended." Library Media Connection, September 2010, starred review
• "An exciting adventure and coming-of-age story with plot twists and cliffhanger chapter endings that will keep you up all night to finish." San Jose Mercury News, 2010
• "MG Harris proves she has a deft touch and a real skill for writing heart-stopping adventure in her code-cracking debut The Joshua Files: Invisible City. After finding a secret manuscript hidden in the back of a photograph frame, Josh is propelled into a high-speed chase across Mexico. Harris has paced this fast-moving adventure with expertise." Vanessa Curtis, 16 February 2008, The Glasgow Herald

M.G. (Maria Guadalupe) Harris was born in Mexico City but moved to England as a young child. Before becoming a writer, M.G. worked as a scientist and ran an Internet business. On regular visits back to Mexico, M.G. became fascinated by Mayan archaeology and made several trips to Mayan ruins in Yucatan and Chiapas. One such trip planted the seed of the idea for The Joshua Files. While recovering from a skiing accident that resulted in a broken leg, M.G. began writing Invisible City, the first book in the Joshua Files series, on a laptop next to the bed. M.G. is also the author of GERRY ANDERSON’S GEMINI FORCE ONE. She writes for young adults as M.G. Reyes. When not wandering around the exotic settings for her novels, like Mexico, Brazil and the Swiss mountains, M.G. and family live on a quiet street in Oxford www.mgharris.net