Meddling Kids

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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

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 Deboën 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.

“Meddling Kids is an utterly charming paean to a squad of animated teen detectives who fought down the crime wave of early-70’s America. Amidst the homages and playfulness, it then transforms into a rip-roaring page turner. Throughout, Cantero plays with form and language in ways that are both mischievous and delightful. This would be impressive enough coming from a native of the country, decade, and language that the book operates in. As Cantero is none of the above, it’s flat-out masterful.” Rob Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Year Zero

“Deliriously wild, funny and imaginative. Cantero is an original voice.” Charles Yu, author of How to Live in a Science Fictional Universe

“This is a novel to read for style and for Cantero’s clever allusions to other stories and media.…Anyone who finds the triangle formed by Scooby-Doo, Lovecraft and Buffy the Vampire Slayer a cozy place to be, here’s your beach book.” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

“A pop-culture gem, a hipster cartoon with surprising depths.” Toronto Star

“Why You’ll Like It: While this is obviously an ode to Scooby Doo, Supernatural fans will love the idea of a group of mystery hunters coming back together after leaving the business, and grappling with the realities of both.” Bustle

Edgar Cantero is a writer and cartoonist from Barcelona working in Catalan, Spanish, and English. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Meddling Kids and The Supernatural Enhancements. He lives in Brooklyn.