The Doomsday Club

An unlikely combination of Jack, his former friend Conan, clever Yash and big Jerry, 12 year-old classmates, are in detention after a brawl in the toilets – and we find out how that happened a bit later – when Jack looks out of the window and sees old Mr Kilroe (‘like a gnarled tree draped in  dark suit’) waving his arms at an old archway. The boys are horrified to see a huge monster with antlers bursting through what turns out to be a portal, and going into Mr Kilroe’s house; intrepid Jack opens the window and sets off to investigate. What follows is a supernatural adventure needing courage and ingenuity from all the boys, with their various skills, and the help of the librarian of a small special library, Bernie, who knows her Celtic mythology. Their teacher, Ms Murphy, and Head Mrs Lynch, are remarkably understanding and tolerant, but all the boys are afraid of the trouble they could be in from their mothers as they get more detentions and sneak about at night… When Conan coins the name Doomsday Club, the others are scornful, but somehow it sticks, and as they work together this unlikely group of boys do become fast friends.

This is a very exciting story, difficult to put down, in which the boys are in real danger, though Rucht, the shape-changing creature, not a monster after all, turns out to be a dependable ally and very useful indeed. The normal humans with their day-to-day cares are contrasted with the demonic Mr Kilroe, and his story, when it finally emerges, is fascinating. Kevin Moran is a natural and very talented writer and this is the first in what promises to be an excellent new series.