A review by connorjdaley
Meddling Kids, by Edgar Cantero
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My fiancé has always been huge into Scooby-Doo, so I had ordered this for her and she really liked it. This Spooky Season I decided to give it a listen instead of a read, and it was a good one.
For all intents and purposes, this is an adult Scooby-Doo reimagining. There’s some great Easter eggs, references, and alterations. But I particularly liked that the author changed the characterizations of the meddling kids. Although I did find some of it, like the romance aspect, to feel incredibly forced and weird. Still enjoyed the overall changes though.
13 years after the final case for the Blyton Summer Detective Club, Andy decides it’s time to figure out what went wrong and get the band back together. They are all messed up, and at first I just thought it was going to be a dark story about their combined ptsd, but the story really deviated in at least a somewhat satisfying way. What if they weren’t just meddling kids? What if not every crime had a guy in a mask at the end of it? That’s what this story seeks to show.
My only real gripe for this one is that the climax builds and builds and builds, and then I personally felt like it fell flat. It actually comes to a close so suddenly that I thought I missed it and re-listened to a full half an hour…I hadn’t missed it, it’s just in actuality, not really there anyway. Regardless though I did really enjoy the rest of the stuff that goes us there.
Personally a 3.5/5* for me, I wish there had been Scooby snacks…
For all intents and purposes, this is an adult Scooby-Doo reimagining. There’s some great Easter eggs, references, and alterations. But I particularly liked that the author changed the characterizations of the meddling kids. Although I did find some of it, like the romance aspect, to feel incredibly forced and weird. Still enjoyed the overall changes though.
13 years after the final case for the Blyton Summer Detective Club, Andy decides it’s time to figure out what went wrong and get the band back together. They are all messed up, and at first I just thought it was going to be a dark story about their combined ptsd, but the story really deviated in at least a somewhat satisfying way. What if they weren’t just meddling kids? What if not every crime had a guy in a mask at the end of it? That’s what this story seeks to show.
My only real gripe for this one is that the climax builds and builds and builds, and then I personally felt like it fell flat. It actually comes to a close so suddenly that I thought I missed it and re-listened to a full half an hour…I hadn’t missed it, it’s just in actuality, not really there anyway. Regardless though I did really enjoy the rest of the stuff that goes us there.
Personally a 3.5/5* for me, I wish there had been Scooby snacks…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Violence, Gore, Grief, Blood, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, and Suicide