Now, where have we all heard that before? If you are thinking Scooby Doo, then you're only half-right! Yes, the kids and their Mystery Machine heard that line countless times by the criminals-dressed-as-monsters that they stopped in every episode. In this instance, however, the line comes from the novel written by Edgar Cantero about four kids and their faithful dog who put away a madman masquerading as the Sleepy Lake Monster thirteen years ago. No, it wasn't Scooby and the gang. Although the similarities are there...
A red-headed beauty...
A dark-haired tomboy...
A tall, skinny geek...
And their ever-faithful dog...
A group of teens and their pet who liked to solve mysteries in their sleepy hometown and disprove the theories of supernatural and monsters. But all that ended thirteen years ago when they unmasked Thomas Wickley as the Sleepy Lake Monster. Something happened that night. Something that changed their lives forever and sent them all on their separate ways. Something they all wanted to forget. Something they could never forget.
Cantero takes the "Scooby" gang in a completely different direction in this enthralling take on everyone's childhood cartoon group of mystery-solving kids. Peter, Kerri, Andrea ("Andy"), Nate, and their faithful dog, Sean, are always ready to solve a good mystery and unmask the man-pretending-to-be-a-monster in and around their hometown. "The Blyton Summer Detective Club" is their name, and unmasking ne'er-do-wells is their game.
Oh, and did you catch that reference? Blyton? As in, Enid Blyton? The author of numerous British children's mystery series. If that weren't enough, the faux newspaper article at the beginning of the book is published by Stratemeyer Press. In the small town of Belden. And the front page article about the crime-solving kids is written by Nancy Hardy. Hmmm, would almost make one think that the author is somewhat of a children's mystery series connoisseur, eh? Of course, all these references were really only icing on the cake for me - the story, in and of itself, was a riotous romp through a Scooby-Doo like world where the reality of the supernatural and actual monsters and occult suddenly becomes all too real. When you are used to only dealing with men and women in masks, how do you handle a real monster that could quite possibly destroy the world?
Well, you do it the same way you would with a man in a mask - you outwit it!
It's thirteen years after the kids stopped the faux Sleepy Lake Monster. Peter is dead, Kerri is barely surviving, Andy has embraced her tomboy nature, and Nate has admitted himself to a mental institution. And Sean ... well, Sean is long gone, but his descendant, Tim, is still around. They are all suffering from nightmares, and Andy decides it is time to put the nightmare to rest once and for all. After all, isn't that what meddling kids do?
The book is a fantastic read, fun not just for fans of Scooby Doo, but for fans of supernatural, mystery, and pretty much any other genre. A definite recommendation!
RATING: 10 gold bars painted to look like bricks out of 10 for taking a childhood favorite, bringing it into adulthood, but keeping it fun and engaging!
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