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|summary=Nina's mother is warm, artistic and impulsive. But one day she disappears, leaving only a vague message telling people not to worry. Then Nina finds some of her mother's favourite belongings in the charity shop, and decides to investigate the mystery.

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Linda Newbery says she once helped out in a charity shop, and felt it was a perfect place to find material for stories. Each item had a history, whether sad or happy, and ''Second-Hand Rose'', the shop owned by Nina's eccentric great-aunts, is full of vintage clothes and other fascinating things, including a big green toy crocodile which is bought and returned so many times it becomes the shop mascot. But finding things there she is sure her absent mother would never willingly give away, Nina is puzzled, distressed and, eventually, determined to find out what made her mother leave—and whether she intends to come back home one day.