I have some pretty strong feelings about this book, and I hate that they aren’t all positive. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, so let’s dive right in.
Meddling Kids is about a group of teen detectives turned grownups with a lot on their minds. Specifically, their last case in Blyton Hills, and how it never really seemed as closed as they thought. The kids go back to their old stomping grounds and learn that it wasn’t just a man in a mask, it was a plan that took hundreds of years to finally break free.
It’s a fantastic idea, right? Scooby Doo meets Cthulhu, what the heck isn’t there to love? Regrettably, a lot. This book wasn’t written consistently, and that has a lot to do with my opinion of it. There were times where scenes were written like they tend to be in novels: “Right.” She nodded. “Well, we’ll make sure he fills us in during his hog-tied villain exposition. Up we go!”
But it would randomly switch to something more like stage directions:
Kerri: This guy wants us to come upstairs and find him.
Andi: Yup. Pretty much my plan, coincidentally.
It made reading difficult because I couldn’t get comfortably lost in the story; I had to keep concentrating on how the heck it was written.
The pacing is also a bit difficult; there are some relatively wild scenes right off the bat, but they tend to be spread out in a bizarre manner, making the mundane bits normal, and the excitement more negative. There wasn’t much in the way of consistency, and that really bugged me.
Some of this may have to do with this being Cantero’s first book in English. If that’s the case, I think a better editor would have helped a lot. But I can’t in good conscience recommend this book. I like the concept, the follow through just wasn’t there. If you have read Meddling Kids, let me know what you thought in the comments below!
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