Staff Pick
What if those meddling kids from Scooby Doo encountered a mystery that was ACTUALLY supernatural? And how would they grow up and move on with their lives after that — let alone finally resolve that mystery for good? Find out in this delightful nostalgia- and pop culture-filled adventure! Recommended By Leah C., Powells.com
If you have fond memories of Scooby Doo, and wonder what it might look like updated to today, laced with some Lovecraftian rocket fuel, and stripped of the cheesy rubber masks at the end, this book is a nonstop thrill ride! Recommended By Warren B., Powells.com
Like the name references, Meddling Kids is a horror-comedy of Scooby-Doo meets H. P. Lovecraft. Set in a fictitious Oregon town, a group of friends reunite to investigate a case that traumatized them as kids. This book's witty writing matches pace with its equally disturbing imagery. Including a nice LGBTQ+ romance subplot that doesn't overpower the main storyline. Plus, Cantero has given Tim (the Weimaraner dog) one of the best personalities, making him my favorite character! Recommended By Kassandra J., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
For fans of John Dies at the End and Welcome to Night Vale comes a tour de force of horror, humor, and H.P. Lovecraft. The surviving members of a forgotten teenage detective club (and their dog) must reunite as broken adults to finally solve the terrifying case that ruined them all and sent the wrong man to prison. Scooby Doo and the gang never had to do this
1990. 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. Keri, one-time kid genius and budding biologist, is bartending in New York, working on a serious drinking problem. At least she s got Sean, an excitable Weimeraner 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
"Freaky pleasure...it scratches a nostalgic itch for those who grew up on Saturday morning Scooby-Doo cartoons and sugar-bombed breakfast cereal." USA Today
Review
"Meddling Kids is that rarest of things: a brilliant idea wedded to beautiful and perfectly-pitched execution." NPR.org
Review
"Cantero (The Supernatural Enhancements) will win readers’ hearts with this goofy smart love letter to childhood adventure and enduring friendship. It’s 1990, 13 years since the Blyton Summer Detective Club of Blyton Hills, Ore. solved the case of the Sleepy Lake monster. It was their last case and now there are only four of them left: Andrea “Andy” Rodriguez, who is wanted in more than one state; bartender Kerri Hollis; Kerri’s excitable Weimaraner Tim; and Kerri’s cousin, nerdy Nate Rogers. Peter Manner is missing, having supposedly committed suicide. Andy thinks there’s more to learn about the monster and convinces Kerri and Nate to return to Sleepy Lake, a scene of horror that’s shadowed their adult lives. When the four arrive at Sleepy Lake, they’re almost immediately attacked by terrifying lake creatures. Scooby Doo touches abound: there’s a nearby river called the Zoinx; Tim the dog is as much of a character as the humans; and they have pitch perfect chase scenes through an underground mine and the haunted Deboën Mansion. There are Lovecraftian tentacles aplenty and the villain is a powerful sorcerer who plans to summon a world ending leviathan. The prose is fast and funny and the quirky, lovable characters are absolutely irresistible. Agent: Emma Sweeney Emma Sweeney Agency. (July)" Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review
"Deliriously wild, funny and imaginative. Cantero is an original voice." Charles Yu, author of How to Live in a Science Fictional Universe
Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Freaky pleasure...it scratches a nostalgic itch for those who grew up on Saturday morning Scooby-Doo cartoons and sugar-bombed breakfast cereal
--USA Today
Deliriously wild, funny and imaginative. Cantero is an original voice.
--Charles Yu, author of How to Live in a Science Fictional Universe
With raucous humor and brilliantly orchestrated mayhem, Meddling Kids subverts teen detective archetypes like the Hardy Boys, the Famous Five, and Scooby-Doo, and delivers an exuberant and wickedly entertaining celebration of horror, love, friendship, and many-tentacled, interdimensional demon spawn.
SUMMER 1977. The Blyton Summer Detective Club (of Blyton Hills, a small mining town in Oregon's Zoinx River Valley) solved their final mystery and unmasked the elusive Sleepy Lake monster--another low-life fortune hunter trying to get his dirty hands on the legendary riches hidden in Debo n Mansion. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those meddling kids.
1990. The former detectives have grown up and apart, each haunted by disturbing memories of their final night in the old haunted house. There are too many strange, half-remembered encounters and events that cannot be dismissed or explained away by a guy in a mask. And Andy, the once intrepid tomboy now wanted in two states, is tired of running from her demons. She needs answers. To find them she will need Kerri, the one-time kid genius and budding biologist, now drinking her ghosts away in New York with Tim, an excitable Weimaraner descended from the original canine member of the club. They will also have to get Nate, the horror nerd currently residing in an asylum in Arkham, Massachusetts. Luckily Nate has not lost contact with Peter, the handsome jock turned movie star who was once their team leader . . . which is remarkable, considering Peter has been dead for years.
The time has come to get the team back together, face their fears, and find out what actually happened all those years ago at Sleepy Lake. It's their only chance to end the nightmares and, perhaps, save the world.
A nostalgic and subversive trip rife with sly nods to H. P. Lovecraft and pop culture, Edgar Cantero's Meddling Kids is a strikingly original and dazzling reminder of the fun and adventure we can discover at the heart of our favorite stories, no matter how old we get.
About the Author
Edgar Cantero is a writer and cartoonist born in Barcelona in 1981. Meddling Kids is his second novel in English; his first was The Supernatural Enhancements.