Just like the mud in Windydown Vale, this story will suck you in.

A person dressing up as a monster to scare people away? Does that concept sound familiar to anyone? If you thought “Scooby-Doo,” you are correct. This story has a few similarities to “Scooby-Doo,” only with much darker themes. It even has the meddling kids.

When I first read the summary, I thought the story would take place in the present day. Turns out it’s set sometime in the 1800s. This is an educated guess since the town has a blacksmith, people use muskets and say things like ‘I reckon.’ I’m also not sure where in the world this story is taking place. Maybe somewhere in England or Florida. Since the town is called Windydown Vale and a vale is a valley, it’s some sort of valley swamp.

This story has a full cast of colorful characters, my favorite characters being Copper’s triplet cousins: Fran, Stacey, and Laila. Good things indeed come in threes. I especially loved Laila. The girl’s got a mouth on her. Here’s one of my favorite Cousin Laila quotes:

“I’ll stay! I can braid your hair and tell you all the cuss words I know.”

This book had me on the edge of my seat. So many secrets, lies, and questions. I can usually figure out the direction a story is going to go, but this one had so many twists and turns that I had no idea what was going to happen next.

If you like spooky mysteries that take place in unique settings, you’ll love this book.