Meddling Kids

The Blyton Summer Detective Club is four bored children and one dog. In 1977, as they search for cases, they stumble into a traumatizing event that is impossible to deal with. In Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero (The Supernatural Enhancements), what first appears to be deference to the predictable child detective trope swiftly becomes a darker and more terrifying story of necromancy and the hard truths of adulthood.

The four detectives, even 13 years later, are unable to move beyond their disastrous summer. Andy, the tomboy, brings them back to Blyton hoping to put their demons to rest. Cantero gives stock genre characters unconventional traits. "Blyton Hills needs your help, kids," wryly observes a townsperson--but these are kids no longer. Kerri (who still owns a dog) is the genius turned college dropout; Andy is a fugitive; athletic Pete died from an overdose years ago; and nerdy Nate, recently in a mental hospital, still hears Pete talking. Supernatural events, legendary lake monsters, mutilated animals and black magic were inconceivable as children, but are all too real upon their return. Nate says, "The symbols... are not props meant to scare children away. They are signs of a very old science." Their return is noticed by an unseen presence, which leads to a terrifying showdown with powerful and dark forces.

Cantero writes on his blog that this novel is "a high concept that can be described in under a minute: kid detectives and monsters." Here is the mash-up fans of Scooby Doo and H.P. Lovecraft have been waiting for. --Cindy Pauldine, bookseller, the river's end bookstore, Oswego, N.Y.

Powered by: Xtenit