Read Cantero's previous book which I enjoyed but I just could not finish this one. I found it to be all over the place and hard to figure out what was going on at times and the writing was not even particularly good.

DNF. I tried, I really did try, but I could not finish. Excellent premise for a story--that of a "scooby gang" finding out there was always something more lurking behind their innocent childhood mysteries. I really liked who the characters are in the present and where they've traveled since their childhood, and I liked their various reactions to returning. But this book badly needs some editing. It was nowhere near ready to be sent out as an ARC. One thing that drove me bats was the author's resistance to "said" instead using words like "wowed" and "tragichuckled."

I would like to read this book someday after it's gone through a few rounds of editing. I think there's an entertaining story in there.

[I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.]

This was fun in a "blast from the past" way. I was always a fan of "Scooby Doo", so it was really fun to read this and imagine the "Scooby Gang" back at it again. I would recommend this to those who were fans of the show.

As a diehard fan of that cartoon series that Cantero draws reference from, I was a bit skeptical that an alternate version would work. But as different as the story was from that childhood favorite, there was just as much to love and enjoy from an adult perspective in this. Very nicely done and well worth the read if you're looking for something that blends nostalgia, intrigue and a healthy dose of spooky.

The title of the book itself lets you know that this book is going to be an ode to a certain well-loved show from the past. And it is. Gloriously so. However, Meddling Kids is also blessedly its own book. It’s mouthy, irreverent, and considerably darker than the well from which it sprang. None of the characters had the lives they expected to have after they grew up. They’re all broken in various ways. And they’ve finally had enough. They need to fix their past before they can continue on with their future.

The only way to do that is to revisit the last case they investigated together.

Sometimes the monster isn’t just a man in the mask. And sometimes happy endings aren’t really happy endings. The Blyton Summer Detective Club learns many things about themselves and the town where they spent so many summers in Meddling Kids.

Meddling Kids is a mystery and action filled romp with a Lovecraftian twist to things. There are epic fight scenes, run for your lives scenes, dramatic hero scenes, and at least one moment of “We’re screwed!’ The story propels itself along relentlessly. But it’s also a book about taking control of your life. About stepping out of the role you were slotted into. And, of course, about not being afraid to take charge and kick arse if it needs kicking.

I absolutely love Cantero’s ability to turn a phrase. Some of his lines had me cracking up.

“They remained on the knoll for a while, under the magical spell of things going kablooey in the night.”

“We have all the symptoms you listed: the nightmares, the bitterness, the feeling of being lost..” “ I just described any twenty-five-year-old ever, you self-centered twit!”

However, the author also made some salient points along the way too.

“How is that an excuse?!” Andy howled. “Why do all bullies think they can get away with ‘I was a kid’? Guess what: I was a kid too, and I didn’t make other people feel like (crap). You were not a kid, you were a (expletive)!”

I wanted to give the author a standing ovation for that particular line. Now if only we can get people start using it against bullies in reality. “Just a kid” excuses a lot of things, but not making other kids’ lives miserable.

For 98% of it, Meddling Kids is a fantastic read. The only real pick I have with the author’s writing in general is that his fight scenes need some work. The action in them is fine, but there was one (kindle) page that didn’t have a single period on it. It was all one big sentence. That was a bit hard to read! Still, it’s a fairly minor thing.

But… there was that last scene. The last scene disappointed me. We had this great story, epic battle, suitable creepiness, fantastic dialogue… and then…it happened.

See, Tim, the weimerarner, was my favorite character of the book. The author very much writes him as if he’s an important character in the book. He’s filled with personality, gives ‘input’ into conversations, and is just a fine, upstanding old chap. His relationship with a certain squeaky toy is adorable. I don’t even particularly care for weimerarners, and I wanted to reach into the book and pull Tim out so he could be my dog.

Example of how Tim was written:
Tim smugly trotted off the scene to tell his penguin everything was fine.

So, when the author decides to give us one last bit of information regarding Tim, all I can ask is “Why”? I don’t understand the inclusion. It wasn’t tying up a thread that needed to be tied up. All it did was add an unneeded explanation that took away some of the charm in a perfectly lovely animal. Bah!

Overall, though, I loved Meddling Kids. It brought back some great Saturday morning memories, but tempered them with the type of humor that fits the adult me. The Lovecraftian bent made the horror hound in me super happy too. It’s not a light and fluffy read, but it is a bloody, funny one!

So this is a schlocky romp where an approximation of the Scooby Doo gang is all grown up and fighting the Old Gods. It's silly at times and there are some problematic things in the book, but if you don't mind over the top, campy horror, you will probably enjoy this. However, the story was not strong enough to overcome the problematic issues I had with the book.

First off, I gotta say this is a fantastic premise for a book--one which will likely make any child of the 70s squeal. It's basically the Scooby Gang if all the stuff the gang THOUGHT was going on was actually happening. In other words, there is no guy in a spooky mask faking it all, there are actually people being raised from the dead and walking wheezing demons and blood offerings.

So, is this a scary book? Eh. I'm not sure I'm the right one to ask. Likely might be for some. Certainly spooky. Certainly funny though, too.

There is a lot going on in this book, stylistically. Too much? Perhaps. Sometimes the editorial adventures (like switching from narration or script style or entire paragraphs that appeared to be one sentence, or blurring the line between what's written and what's read-- i.e. "two lines later, they were still stunned") were delightful, but other times I felt like I was sitting on the floor in front of a newly woken puppy, shouting "JUST HOLD STILL SO I CAN ACTUALLY LOVE YOU!"

Basically whoever edited this book has some serious balls. Even if I didn't always appreciate that fact while I was READING the book, I appreciate the spirit, overall.

The Blyton Summer Detective Club is not to be mistaken for the Scooby-Doo gang. This group is totally different. ;) A fun mash up of Saturday morning cartoons, Cthulhu and craziness. Best read with a huge bowl of sugar cereal. Loved it!