Cover Illustration by David Dean
Published by Usborne Publishing
The Spirit Snatcher is a spine-tinglingly thrilling, spooky story that completely captivated me: an adventure brimming with friendship, humour, danger and a brilliant cast of supernatural creatures.
12-year-old Pip Rushkin is reluctantly moving to London with his wonderfully eccentric parents, but his new home is not quite what he is was expecting. Arriving in Elbow Alley, he meets a girl in a pub doorway who greets him with a warning to leave as, if he stays, something bad will happen. But what can he do when his parents seem happy in their new home despite its rather neglected appearance?
Awoken by a noise in the middle of the night, Pip notices a mist moving towards him from beneath the door, a mist which is threatening to devour him, but then it disappears through the flat window. Convincing himself that he must be dreaming, he listens to an audiobook and falls asleep.
But, the next morning, his parents are acting strangely and are not at all like themselves. Spooked by their blank expressions, Pip races outside and finds himself at the pub where Fliss, the girl who had warned him to leave, tells him that his parents have fallen victim to the spirit snatcher: a supernatural creature who drains people’s personalities. Pip has until he turns 13 on Halloween to discover the identity of the spirit-snatcher and destroy it in order to save his parents, before time runs out and he too is in danger of being spirit-snatched.
Finding something strangely out-of-place in his new home shouldn’t be too difficult, should it? But, unfortunately for Pip, he is the one who is out-of-place as he and his family have moved into a secret, hidden place that magical beings call home. His neighbours are hags, banshees, werewolves and vampires not to mention a ghost who runs an antique food shop with some majestic mouldy cheese, a harpy with a shrewd business mind and a pair of ghouls with, to put it mildly, unusual dietary tastes.
I absolutely loved this action-packed, exciting adventure as Pip and Fliss, alongside loyal and protective terrier, Splodge, team up to track down the spirit snatcher and uncover their identity before time runs out. There is plenty of peril, lightened with some brilliant moments of humour. I loved following the children’s investigations which leads them into mischief, trouble and danger as they seek the spirit snatcher who always seems to be one step ahead of them. The revelations and twists in this adventure are absolutely fantastic, and they really took me by surprise as I’m sure they will young readers.
Both Pip and Fliss are wonderful characters who form a gorgeous bond of friendship. They are quite different characters with Pip aiming to fit in whilst Fliss is happy to stand out, but both are hiding from their true selves. Fliss is brilliantly feisty and gives Pip the confidence not to give up whilst he proves himself a determined and courageous friend.
The Spirit Snatcher is an exhilarating, perfectly spooky mystery that is sure to captivate readers of 9+.
Thank you so much to Kaleidoscopic Tours for inviting me to be part of the Blog Tour, and to Usborne for providing me with a copy of The Spirit Snatcher in exchange for my honest opinion.
Do check out the other stops on this week’s Blog Tour below:
Book Craic 