The Dark Deception - the second Daphne & Velma Mystery

Those meddling kids are back in a second mystery starring the two ladies of the group - Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley!  In the first book by author Josephine Ruby, Daphne and Velma had to work their way through their own personal issues to help out a friend who had vanished - and in doing so, they uncovered a number of their hometown's secrets.  But, as this second book shows, there are still many more secrets left to discover!  The last page of the previous book found Daphne and Velma receiving a cryptic message from the friend they had just saved - all it said was that Shaggy Rogers needed their help!  But what was his problem, and how could they help him?  Well, as this second book opens, that is what the two teen detectives are set to find out!

The Dark Deception is written by Morgan Baden, and honestly, it is clear that Baden has a better feel for the characters than Ruby did.  That is not to say Ruby did a bad job or anything - I actually enjoyed that first book.  But with this one, as I was reading the story, I could clearly hear in my head the voices of Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and even Fred (in the few instances where he appears).  No voice for Scooby, though, since these novels are set in the "real" world, and here, Scooby is just a typical dog.  The story opens not long after the end of the first book, and Velma and Daphne are tailing Shaggy, trying to figure out just how they are supposed to help him.  Shaggy is not one to just open up to others, and neither Velma nor Daphne know of any problems he has or trouble in which he may have found himself.  He still seems his normal self.  But the events of this day are about to change all of that...

Shaggy enters the jewelry store downtown, but never comes out.  When Velma and Daphne go in to find him, he is gone - and the owner of the store claims she never saw him!  The girls know the owners' daughter, who goes to school with them and is considered an outsider; but she seems to have taken a liking to Shaggy.  Before they can investigate further, however, the whole town is in an uproar, headed for the beach.  With some reluctance, Velma and Daphne head down there as well, where they are shocked to discover hundreds of jewels washing up to shore - diamonds, rubies, emeralds - every jewel imaginable!  The citizens of Crystal Cove believe they have struck it rich!  But Velma suspects something else is going on, as does Shaggy's mom, who happens to be the town sheriff.  And then there is the new reporter for the Crystal Cove Howler, Ramsay Hansen - a very good-looking, intelligent college student who Daphne just so happens to be crushing on!  Daphne is interning at the Howler, and she has been paired up to work with Ram.  But Ram seems less interested in getting to the facts of the story and more interested in stirring up headlines when he questions the Sheriff about whether these jewels are just another part of the town's curse!

Baden provides readers with a great mystery that incorporates a lot of spooky elements that fans of Scooby Doo have some to love over the years.  Creepy old houses, hidden passages, dark caves, haunted amusement parks, dark curses, and ancient legends.  Although it takes Velma and Daphne quite a bit of work to get to it, readers finally discover some of what is troubling Shaggy - but the big question is whether they will truly be able to help him, or if their desire to get to the truth about the jewels that washed up on shore will ultimately destroy Shaggy's family!  And when the infamous Crystal Cove Crystal is stolen from Shaggy's family home, it's up to Velma and Daphne to track it down - even if that means coming face to face with the Lady Vampire of the Bay!

I'm enjoying seeing the Scooby gang portrayed in a "real" way - with families, issues, secrets, and even the real-world trials and tribulations of school, homework, and deadlines.  A third book was solicited on Amazon, Buried Secrets, which was supposed to be released on June 1, 2021 - however, it was never released, and there doesn't seem to be any word on when it will come out.  Not sure what's up with that, but it will be very disappointing if they leave this story unresolved.  

One final note - the author, Morgan Baden, happens to be the wife of Barry Lyga, who has done an outstanding job with the Flash TV series tie-in books for young adults.  So, it's no surprise to me that this Daphne and Velma book is so well-written.  This husband/wife team certainly know how to write!

RATING:  9 facon, egg, cheese, and pickle sandwiches out of 10 for honoring the Scooby Doo gang with a fantastic tale of mystery, suspense, and spooky curses and legends!

The Vanishing Girl - the first Daphne & Velma Mystery

I loved watching the original Scooby Doo cartoons on TV back when I was a kid - their mystery solving antics were like watching Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys with some humor thrown in.  I also loved the two live action movies starring Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar, as well as the most recent animated film, Scoob.  While I would not call myself a huge fan, per se, I do enjoy the show and characters. So, when I saw in Previews that a new mystery was solicited with Daphne and Velma as the title characters, I took a chance with it, hoping it would stay true to the original concept.  I'm happy to say, the author did!

The Vanishing Girl is the first in a series of mysteries that has not only Daphne and Velma (although they are the title characters), but also features the rest of the gang - Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby. Yes, there is a bit of drama throughout the story - Daphne and Velma had a falling out some years back and haven't spoken since - and yes, this is portrayed in the real world, so Scooby doesn't talk, and Shaggy and Scooby don't swallow down huge sub sandwiches in a single gulp. However, the characterization stays true to the cartoon - Velma is the brain, Daphne is the pretty one, Fred is the "jock" of sorts, Shaggy is the laid-back, easy-going one, and Scooby is - well, he's Scooby.  And when one of Daphne's friends disappears - well, there's a mystery afoot, and if there's one thing this gang is good at, it's solving mysteries!

Marcy Heller has been acting differently lately. Daphne has noticed her best friend has changed. And when Marcy suddenly claims to have been attacked by a ghost in the local theme park, the Crystal Cove Haunted Village, well - Daphne knows something is off. There are no such things as ghosts. So, why, then is Marcy so insistent that she saw one? And why is Marcy constantly blowing her off, trying to end their friendship? And why, without warning, does Marcy suddenly want to make amends to Velma, Daphne's ex-best friend? Just when Daphne things she is going to get the answers, Marcy disappears without a trace! The police think she simply took off down to Mexico - but Daphne knows better. And if she wants to get to the bottom of things, she's going to have to ask for help from the last person in the world she wants to - Velma!

Velma, meanwhile, knows something is going on at the Crystal Cove Haunted Village. Her family used to live on that property and run the park. But someone bought them out and threw them out. Now Velma's father no longer works, but lives in a state of depression, insisting the property really belongs to them. Velma's mother works for the Village, but she has just been fired for leaving the gate open to allow Marcy to get in (even though she insists she locked it). Velma is determine to get to the bottom of it, even if it means having to face her ex-best friend, Daphne, to find out more information on Marcy and why she would lie about her mother.

Author Josephine Ruby tells a fantastic story of friendship, teen angst, misunderstandings, mystery, intrigue, and a bit of Scooby Doo fun-filled antics that will please any true Scooby and the gang fan. Ruby brings the characters of Daphne, Velma, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby to life in a fantastic way that makes you feel for each of them, and while you know Daphne and Velma will mend fences before the end of the book, you still find yourself rooting for them along the way.  There are plenty of nods to the original cartoon series, and the final revelation of who kidnapped Marcy and why is done in true Scooby fashion.

And, just in case you are wondering, a second book is already on its way out - and it better pick up right where this one left off, considering the bombshell dropped at the end of this book!

RATING:  10 screaming rides on the Ghost Coaster out of 10 for updating the Scooby gang in a natural way while remaining true to the characters

Meddling Kids - a (sort-of) tale of the Scooby gang...

"And I'd have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids..."

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 good looking blond guy...
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!