For decades we’ve followed the escapades of Mystery, Inc., and the Hardy Boys among other kid detectives as they solved local mysteries and unmasked the villains. But what happened after these meddling kids grew up? Edgar Cantero tries to answer this question in his comedic and supernatural book, Meddling Kids.
As kids, Andy, Peter, Nate, Kerri, and their dog, Sean, spent their summers unmasking villains in Blyton Hills as the Blyton Summer Detective Club. About 15 years after their last mystery, the gang is still haunted by the events of that night. Now, the gang decides to head back to Blyton Hills and unmask what really happened that night once and for all.
Cantero uses a unique writing style for Meddling Kids where it would go from straight prose to TV/movie script style with dialogue only and described camera angles, which was an interesting choice since the material closely resembled the Scooby Doo gang. However, it wasn’t a carbon copy of already existing material. The characters in Meddling Kids were funnier and more real than the characters from Scooby Doo. Despite their out of this world experienced, I was struck by how lifelike and relatable the characters were, with some of their issues not far off the crises experienced by a normal 20-something year old.
But Meddling Kids was more than a comedic spoof on some popular stories from childhood. Cantero also channeled H.P. Lovecraft, creating a page turning mystery involving the occult that will get the heart racing and keep readers guessing until the very end, where he will still manage to surprise readers with a few more tricks up his sleeve. A mixture of nostalgia and horror, Cantero has written the perfect book that will be sure to keep readers wondering about the bumps in the night.
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