Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

Content Warning: References to suicide, anxiety attacks, probable PTSD, kidnapping

Synopsis1990. The teen detectives once known as the Blyton Summer Detective Club (of Blyton Hills, a small mining town in the Zoinx River Valley in Oregon) are all grown up and haven't seen each other since their fateful, final case in 1977. Andy, the tomboy, is twenty-five and on the run, wanted in at least two states. Kerri, one-time kid genius and budding biologist, is bartending in New York, working on a serious drinking problem. At least she's got Tim, an excitable Weimaraner descended from the original canine member of the team. Nate, the horror nerd, has spent the last thirteen years in and out of mental health institutions, and currently resides in an asylum in Arhkam, Massachusetts. The only friend he still sees is Peter, the handsome jock turned movie star. The problem is, Peter's been dead for years.

The time has come to uncover the source of their nightmares and return to where it all began in 1977. This time, it better not be a man in a mask. The real monsters are waiting.

With raucous humor and brilliantly orchestrated mayhem, Edgar Cantero's Meddling Kids taps into our shared nostalgia for the books and cartoons we grew up with, and delivers an exuberant, eclectic, and highly entertaining celebration of horror, life, friendship, and many-tentacled, interdimensional demon spawn.


Review: So, this book is Scooby-Doo, but darker. There's a group of kids, and a dog, who solved some mystery one summer, and they moved on with their lives. We do not get to experience this mystery first hand. We just get memory remnants from the group after they become adults. I loved these characters so much. The book opens as Kerri is having an anxiety attack. Not a mild one, but a massive one that actually made my best friend uncomfortable when he read it. It was extremely well done. It isn't stated, but I'm assuming Kerri is plagued with PTSD as well as she continually has nightmares. Nate has committed himself into an institution for his delusions. One of these delusions is his friend Peter, an old member of the group, who committed suicide when they were all adults. The dialogue between Peter and Nate has a dark humor to it that is played very well. Andy seems to be the most "normal" of the group, but even she has her demons. Then there's Tim. He is the descendant of Sean who was the original "Scooby-Doo" character. I loved how realistic Tim was to the story. Not in the, "Tim sniffed around like dogs tend to do" kind of way. During some of the adventure, Andy has to carry Tim because he can't get around like his human companions. He does have some human-like qualities which make for some fun moments. The group dynamic was where this book shined. Every character felt unique.

I'll be honest, I'm a sucker for stories where kids leave a small town, come back as adults, and learn new things. This was definitely that kind of book. The story centers around an unsolved mystery but, around that, the group learns more about the nightmares of their past and how it really affects them. There are some supernatural elements to the story, which I was actually a little sad about. It still had a "man in the mask" element, but I wish it was completely grounded in reality. Even still, I enjoyed the story and I'm so glad this book was brought into my life. It was delightful. Funny in all the right places, dark in all the right places.

4.5 howls

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