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The Joy of Spooking, Book One: Fiendish Deeds By P.J. Bracegirdle
***/5
Joy Wells and her brother Byron live with their parents in a ramshackle old home in Spooking, a dying town on the outskirts of a booming suburb called Darlington. For Joy, a rabid fan of famous horror writer, E.A. Peugeot, Spooking is everything. She loves the old houses, the creepy cemetery, the decrepit playground. She especially loves the swamp, where she imagines Peugeot’s terrifying creatures live. In fact, she is determined to prove that the famous writer’s spooky tales are based on the town of Spooking. All she’s lacking is, well, proof. With this in mind, she ventures into the swamp in an attempt to find that elusive piece of evidence she would need to confirm her theory. What she finds, however, is a thrilling, dark adventure of her own.
When the swamp and its fragile ecosystem is threatened by the development of a water park, Joy must find a way to stop it. However, the mayor’s right hand man, the ominous Mr. Phipps, hates Spooking as much as Joy loves it and is determined to see it buried for good.
Montreal dweller Bracegirdle entwines this gothic tale for children with issues of urban encroachment. Although Mr. Phipps’ reasons for hating Spooking so much could have been explained a little more (I know it’s only book one, but geez, throw the reader a bone please?) and the tone of the book sometimes wavers between high falutin’ speak and slang, the story moved along at a quick pace, and the characters are eccentric, sympathetic and charmingly flawed. I would recommend this book to lovers of Lemony Snicket.
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