I’m going to try something new and recommend books that I enjoyed reading.
Meddling Kids
First up is Edgar Cantero’s Meddling Kids, which might have been inspired by watching Scooby-Doo after reading H.P. Lovecraft.
Peter, Kerrie, Andy, and Nate, along with their canine companion Sean, achieved notoriety as the Blyton Summer Detective Club. They solved a number of small-town mysteries, which were occasionally unbelievable schemes perpetrated by a man in a bad Halloween costume.
Then they grew up, grew apart, and tried to go on with their lives. But their last case still haunted them, and that’s where Meddling Kids picks up the action. Andy (please don’t call her Andrea) gets the members of the gang back together to investigate what really happened during their final case as preteen detectives 13 years earlier.
Cantero creates a satisfying mystery, complete with all sorts of fun nods to the two genres he’s working with. But there’s also a touching love story and a tale about growing up to be found here.
There are some odd stylistic choices — for example every so often, Cantero abandons traditional prose for a movie script format. It feels very odd the first few times he does it, but I got used to it after that.
Meddling Kids is a fun read that I’d recommend to any grown-up kids out there.
PaulHadsall.com 