Loyalist To A Fault

I won a copy of Loyalist to a Fault by Evan Munday in a Goodreads Giveaway.

I fear I may be in trouble here for a couple of reasons; first, author Evan Munday, in the first chapter of Loyalist to a Fault mildly (and good-naturedly) chastises readers who have not read the first two books in The Dead Kid Detective Agency series, and second, the Barnes and Noble website, where I also post reviews when able, lists Loyalist to a Fault as for 8-12 year-old readers, Amazon also lists it as a children's book.

I, sadly, have not read the first two offerings in the series, and I do not fall in the audience target age range.

If this truly destroys the credibility of my review, oh well, because I enjoyed this book immensely. The narrator often speaks directly to the reader making them an insider to the story. I think this is great and makes an already funny story even better. The adventures of our heroine, October Schwartz, are too much fun. Though maybe not to her.

As the series title divulges, our human detective, who is in the ninth grade, is aided in her sleuthing by several non-living entities (ghosts). They of course have many (mis)adventures on the way to resolving their mysteries. Think Scooby-Doo meets Nancy Drew, meets Saved by the Bell, meets Rocky Horror (the narrator).

There are many pop culture references which the target audience is probably too young to get, so author Munday provides a helpful guide explaining those references. Shows how old I am, I understood most of the references without the guide.

I would advise whomever is in charge of such things, to reconsider labeling Loyalist to a Fault as for 8-12 year-olds. I think adults, at least those who still possess a sense of humor, will have fun reading this book. Seeing the book described as a children's book may discourage them from checking it out. This would be sad indeed, we all need a good, clean, fun read from time to time.

Loyalist to a Fault  is not serious (did I get that point across yet?), if you want serious, read War and Peace, if you want light-hearted fun, read Evan Munday's Loyalist to a Fault. Unless you are a full on grinch you'll like it. Enjoy!


Mike