In a nutshell: Victorian child detectives in action-packed, funny, paranormal mysteries | A classic creepy opening – mummy comes to life to wreak havoc in a stuffy drawing room filled with over-dressed Victorians – is followed by a terrifically lively crime caper in which a couple of talented kids (one of them a wheel-chair user) outwit the grown-ups and the scary villains at practically every turn. Billy Flint and Charlotte (Charley) Steel work at S.C.R.E.A.M. (supernatural crimes rescues emergencies and mysteries) investigating the bizarre, the paranormal and the unexplained, and they’ve quite a challenge in this case: who is controlling the mummy, and why? Excitement levels are maintained at a high throughout, though eased with lots of sharp humour, and there’s no Scooby Doo-style trickery to these supernatural baddies, they’re the real thing. Well-written, well-paced and thoroughly satisfying. If this gives you a taste for paranormal crime solving don’t miss Jonathan Stroud’s superb Lockwood & Co series. ~Andrea Reece
A message from the author:“With S.C.R.E.A.M. I wanted to have my cake and eat it! I love adventures, I love detective stories, I love monsters and I love to laugh. I’ve done my best to mix all of those ingredients together and write a series chockful of thrills, chills and humour… two children solving supernatural crimes, outthinking the adults, outwitting the villains, and coming face to face with classic monsters.”
In the dark and winding streets of Edinburgh, a burglar is on the prowl. But this is no ordinary thief. Three thousand years old and risen from the grave, this rampaging robber is a rotting Egyptian Mummy - and he wants rubies and revenge! There's only one crime-fighting force who can deal with a menace like this; Billy Flint & Charley Steel aka S.C.R.E.A.M. - top-secret investigators of Supernatural Crimes, Rescues, Emergencies And Mysteries.
In the S.C.R.E.A.M series Andrew’s main character Charley, is an amazing girl with a brilliant mind. She brings scientific method to the investigations, as well as her charm and dry wit. Charley also happens to be in a wheelchair. Andrew wanted to show that it does not define her – Charley had Polio, and so now being in a chair is just another part of her life. When Andrew was younger, he injured himself badly and his injury meant that he couldn’t dress himself, or cut up his food, and he drove an adapted vehicle. He says of this experience: “I was still me, with all the same hopes and dreams and personality, I just had extra obstacles to overcome. I wanted to use that experience in my writing.”
As a child adventure was everywhere for Andrew Beasley; he went exploring Scunge Island and had an underground base made out of sunken coal bunker. Now that he's grown up, Andrew works as a primary school teacher in Cornwall and the author of The Battles of Ben Kingdom series. The Claws of Evil was his first book for children.
