Publication Date: 28 October 2022

The Blurb

Enter a world of ghosts unlike any you’ve read about before, creepy, funny and unpredictable. Join Alistair, Saoirse and Billy (The Corny-Scaredy-Cat-Paranormal Investigation Squad) on their ghost hunts. Who are the ghosts? Can the ghost hunters solve that mystery and will they come out alive?

The Review

A riotous romp of a read that will have you laughing out loud as you join the squad on their first mission together, ghost hunting with every day items, bucket loads of dead pan humour and a little brother who puts the Taz from Looney Tunes to shame.

Alistair is lost without his best friend, Barry, who selfishly moved away just because his mum got a new job, leaving Al to navigate life in Nate’s End on his own. That is, until Saoirse takes Barry’s seat in class and ignores the cool kids in favour of her new desk mate.

Alistair is quick to tell us all of his quirks and insecurities that leave him out on his own in the playground, while Saoirse says little about herself other than about her passion for all things paranormal. And if Al is bamboozled by her behaviour, he finds her little brother, Billy an enigma, and a rude ill-behaved one at that.

As their friendship develops and the ghost hunt becomes more dangerous than either had ever imagined, both children open up to each other about themselves, their fears and their hopes, while Billy barrels through life doing exactly as he pleases much to other’s astonishment and annoyance.

Rory Walker’s fabulously fun illustrations add to the humour throughout the book. With an ending that had me laughing until I was breathless, and praying that Billy and I are never in the same room, this is just a joy to read.

Great for fans of:

• Greta And The Ghost Hunters by Sam Copeland
• The Super Miraculous Journey Of Freddie Yates by Jenny Pearson
• Sleepover Takeover by Simon James Green

The Guest Post by David Wandsworth – who are your favourite ghosts in fiction?

I had some help from our friend Google finding these. . .

Hamlet Sr.: Legend has it that Will himself might have played him.  The best thing about the role, I’m hazarding as a total non-actor, is the ability to ham it up early on, then retire to the pub for the rest of the evening before arriving back on stage shaky-legged for the curtain call.

Marley in A Christmas Carol: Why would a ghost be in chains?  Who would try to chain a ghost?  Of course, it was metaphorical, because Marley had chained himself to worldly things.  But what if someone, say, ate like a pig during life—would they turn, according to this metaphor reification business, into the spirit of a pig?  That might be cute.  And George Clooney might adopt you.  And what about Marley & Me?  Or for that matter, Bob Marley?  The questions just keep on coming.

Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw: Not to be confused with Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, in The Guardians of the Galaxy, who’s frankly a lot more fun.

Slimer from Ghostbusters: There seems to be a theme running through this list connecting ghosts with eating.

Pac-Man ghosts: See what I mean? In real life, how would Pac-Man digest all those pellets without a stomach?  Wouldn’t he just poo them straight back out in a Hansel-and-Gretel style poo trail, leading the ghosts, who are only looking out for his welfare by trying to stop him from developing diabetes in the first place, right to him?  For that matter, where do Mario and Subway Surfer keep all those coins they collect—can a plumber’s overalls have pockets that big?  The questions just keep on coming!

Moaning Myrtle: Imagine being confined to a loo and, because you’re a ghost, never needing to actually use it?

Snapchat ghost: I’ve never used Snapchat, but as it has no eyes, I’m not afraid of it.

Casper: The real Casper that the ghost was based on, as we all know, wasn’t friendly at all, but was rather a scheming psychopath named Casper Dunlap who stole a silver tankard in 1750 and was transported to sunny Australia for his trouble.

Huge thanks to David for his spooktacular guest post, and to Everything With Words for sending me a copy and inviting me to take part in the blog tour. Do make sure you check out all of the other stops.