Monday book review: Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

Ever wonder what happened to the Scooby Doo gang when they grew up? Well, so did author Edgar Cantero, and he's crafted a groovy novel about his own youth detectives in order to explore the fate of Velma, Shaggy, Daphne, Fred and Scooby Doo later in life.

In the case of Meddling Kids, our older -- and emotionally damaged -- heroes return to the summer town where they used to solve mysteries. It turns out the culprit from their most famous case, the Sleepy Lake Monster, wasn't the culprit after all. Sure, he was the guy in the rubber suit who claimed he'd of gotten away with it, but something far more sinister was afoot... and still could be.

Meddling kid is at once a reflection on our childhood memories, an ode to Saturday morning cartoons (remember those), and in-your-face pop culture references; all told with some of the smartest, wittiest and most exciting prose I've ever read.

Cantero has a habit of dropping out of his usual narrative, and switching to a script format when he wants dialogue to flow more quickly. It's a bit jarring at first, but easy to get used to. In fact, it added to my enjoyment of the book.

He's also willing to "go there" when it comes to his heroes. These are kids who saw messed up, spooky stuff. That's going to leave an emotional scar, and he explores the affects through his substitute Scooby gang. This makes for some sad, tragic and powerful stuff around the pulpy, self-referential action.

Yes, this is THE book that mixes survivor trauma with colourful, cartoon-like adventure, and executes it to perfection. It's a Good, and I highly recommend you go and buy it right now!

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