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A review by kcummings
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'm so conflicted about this one. It ticks a lot of boxes for things I love to read about in horror (towns with dark secrets, Lovecraft/cosmic horror, people dealing with and overcoming trauma, etc), and while I love the concept and it was funny in places, overall this feels kinda half-baked.
The best written character in the entire book was the dog. Tim stole the show in almost every scene, though I'm not quite sure that was the effect the author was going for. Also, the twist at the end involving him seemed really out of left field. The book might have built it up a little if you squint hard enough. Peter the ghost seemed like a total waste. Reading the cover blurb, I expected him to be as much of a major player as the other members of the "detective club", but he only ever interacts with Nate, and despite Nate speaking aloud to him many times in the presence of other characters, it's never explained whether or not he's actually a ghost or just a by-product of Nate's trauma before he just disappears from the narrative near the end. Maybe these things will be explained in a future sequel?
It's really clear that the author wants this to be a movie from all the moments where the prose suddenly turns into a screenplay. Even listening to the audio book, this is a really odd choice and kind of jarring in a lot of places. The author is also allergic to the word "said" and seemed to be going out of his way to use a different verb every time any character spoke. Sometimes it added to the humorous tone, other times it just seemed like he was trying to hard to be quirky.
I was a little put-off by the treatment of a character who happened to be intersex, and whose only defining trait seemed to be that they were intersex. The character is extremely minor and has no overall bearing on the story, so it felt like the entire point of their inclusion was so the book could poke fun at them. Look how weird this guy is! Yeah, no thanks.
Overall, it's a great, funny concept, but some weird choices weighed it down.
The best written character in the entire book was the dog. Tim stole the show in almost every scene, though I'm not quite sure that was the effect the author was going for. Also, the twist at the end involving him seemed really out of left field. The book might have built it up a little if you squint hard enough. Peter the ghost seemed like a total waste. Reading the cover blurb, I expected him to be as much of a major player as the other members of the "detective club", but he only ever interacts with Nate, and despite Nate speaking aloud to him many times in the presence of other characters, it's never explained whether or not he's actually a ghost or just a by-product of Nate's trauma before he just disappears from the narrative near the end. Maybe these things will be explained in a future sequel?
It's really clear that the author wants this to be a movie from all the moments where the prose suddenly turns into a screenplay. Even listening to the audio book, this is a really odd choice and kind of jarring in a lot of places. The author is also allergic to the word "said" and seemed to be going out of his way to use a different verb every time any character spoke. Sometimes it added to the humorous tone, other times it just seemed like he was trying to hard to be quirky.
I was a little put-off by the treatment of a character who happened to be intersex, and whose only defining trait seemed to be that they were intersex. The character is extremely minor and has no overall bearing on the story, so it felt like the entire point of their inclusion was so the book could poke fun at them. Look how weird this guy is! Yeah, no thanks.
Overall, it's a great, funny concept, but some weird choices weighed it down.