Scepter of the Ancients, 1st in the
Skullduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy, is free courtesy of publisher HarperCollins.
Actually, it doesn't seem to be their usual Free with Bonus Material promote-the-upcoming-newest-in-series sort of thing, so it may just possibly be a glitch. It is, however, the full book and not some sample preview thing.
Anyway, currently free from
B&N. Hopefully it'll show up in the other stores.
Credit where credit is due: I got this and the other B&N freebies from the very nice
Free NOOKbook summary thread over at the B&N discussion boards, which is well worth a visit, as some generous volunteers compile a list of all the current valid B&N publisher freebies which have often dropped well off into the depths of the Deals forum here even though the deal may still be going.
Description
Meet Skulduggery Pleasant—Ace Detective Snappy Dresser Razor–tongued Wit Crackerjack Sorcerer and Walking, Talking, Fire-throwing Skeleton—as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old.
These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil.
The end of the world?
Over his dead body.