Synopsis
When the town’s “it-couple,” Brad and Shelley, are found brutally murdered in a secluded manor, a brave group of teen friends takes on the mystery.
Set in 2001 Sanera, California ―a small, quiet community where nothing ever happens ― the shocking murders shake everyone, leaving them to believe the ghost of a murdered landowner has finally taken his revenge. Join Cam, Jonesy, Amber, and the new girl Buffy as they dig deeper into the sinister secrets of the mansion. With every clue they uncover, the eerie rumors seem frighteningly real. As they decide whether to stick together or split up to find evidence, they must face the ultimate question: will this decision be their salvation or their doom?
Review
Huge thanks to Scholastic Press for the physical ARC!
I started this one at the same time as listening to 80s Ghosts by V.S. Lawrence. It also features paranormal investigating, just like the opening of this one. I loved the old school feel with the camcorder and its almost Blair Witch opening scare. I really thought for a second I was going to have dueling ghost novels, but LSU quickly deviates, which really surprised me. I was drawn in by the title, the obvious Scooby Doo vibe, and I was not expecting this to become a slasher investigation story.
To address the elephant in the novel…this is not really Scooby Doo-like in my opinion. And it’s trying to be, which then became a problem for me, as I had trouble drawing comparisons. The title is of course a very typical SD trope and there’s a blurb chosen that specifically references SD as well. There are four friends investigating, and even a dog, although they don’t include the dog when in public. Two girls and two boys and when they meet the new girl they even guess her name might be Daphne. It just didn’t encapsulate that spirit of SD in the way I wanted. It tried to be a darker, more adult (more like teen) version, but with the truly great Meddling Kids out there, this was a hard one to live up to.
It is however, a perfectly easy and enjoyable read. There is suspense, tension, and even stakes with some flip-flopping Scream-esque twists. The description of the ghoul did feel very SD with its almost cartoon style blue glow and manor filled with hidden entrances and tricks. It also gave an updated, modern take with its male best friends turned boyfriends, but then again it all felt very easy. Not that every story needs the relationship (especially queer ones) to be this incredibly arduous and eggshell-walking experience, it just didn’t add much. They were pure in a novel that’s pretty dark, but then again, the friend group has a pureness to begin with.
I think I’d gladly read another to see how this develops, as there were some well thrown in red herrings, but as it stands I’d love the see the multiple POV take on a more necessary feel. Much of this novel felt a bit empty.
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