Something Wickedly Weird 6 – The Treasure Keepers

Chris Mould's Something Wickedly Weird 6 - The Treasure Keepers is a creepy, funny island adventure for 10 year olds about a boy sitting on a secret half the world would like to dig up.

What happens

Stanley Buggles can't sleep. There's a howl coming off the moor and it's louder tonight than usual, and Stanley has a fairly long list of things to worry about.

A gold mine runs like a maze under the island, and only five children know it's there. An escaped prisoner is out on the moor in the shape of a wolf. And a pirate called MacDowell, who swore he had no interest in the gold and then helped himself to it, has gone off in a boat and will absolutely be back.

Then a clipper ship that looks to have a hundred sails comes into the bay. Three traders row ashore and shake hands with the mayoress. Stanley counts four men on board and only three on the harbour wall.

What he does about all this is one of the best bits. His plan involves a thousand tins of paint, which tells you a lot about the sort of book this is.

The tone is the real draw. Stanley keeps a stuffed pike in a glass case who talks, but only when he feels like it, and only in riddles, and then sulks when nobody thanks him. The housekeeper Mrs Carelli marches about shouting at everybody. The Darkling twins turn up their noses at biscuits because they would rather have raw meat. It's grim and daft at the same time, which is a very particular kind of fun.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

There's a lot of blood in this one. A man is found on the moor caked in it, and what's wrong with his leg turns out to be a bite. Another man is attacked and torn at on the open moor and a shotgun goes off. Someone gets lost in the tunnels while the sea comes in. None of it is dwelt on, but it's there, and a child who finds animal attacks frightening will feel it.

For a reader who likes exactly that mix, though, this is a treat. It's the last of its series, so the world is already fully built and the children already trust each other.

What to read next

If they want more of Crampton Rock, look for The Ice Pirates. Stanley heads back to the island for a winter, and something has come south out of the ice looking for what he found.