Undead Pets 8 – Hour of the Doomed Dog

Sam Hay's Hour of the Doomed Dog is a spooky, funny story for 6 year olds about a dead dachshund with one last job to do.

What happens

It's the eighth Undead Pets book. Joe has a magic Egyptian amulet from his great-uncle Charlie, and it means he's the only person who can see undead pets. They keep turning up with one problem to fix before they can pass over.

This time Joe's family are staying at the Grand Hotel in Skipton Sands for his cousin Megan's wedding. Waiting at the bottom of the stairs is Frankie. He has bulging green eyes, very short legs and a row of stitches round his middle. He belonged to Sylvia, who owns the hotel. And he's sure two men are about to rob it.

Joe would quite like to help. He'd also quite like to enjoy the weekend! There's crabbing off the sea wall, a banana split the size of a beach ball and crazy golf. And there's his cousin Damian, who's the same age as Joe and beats him at absolutely everything (and makes sure he knows it).

Frankie is SUCH a character. He's bossy and dramatic ("OUTRAGEOUS!"), he drips green zombie drool and he chews Joe's new trainers when Joe won't get out of bed. Nobody else can see him, so whenever he knocks something flying, Joe gets the blame.

Underneath all the slapstick there's a proper little mystery. Who are the robbers? And what exactly are they planning to steal? Your reader will enjoy spotting clues before Joe does.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

The whole series is about pets who have died, and Frankie's death was an accident with the hotel's revolving doors. It's only mentioned, never shown, and it's played for laughs (there's a joke about sausage dogs and revolving doors). But it could be hard going for a child who has just lost a pet of their own.

For a reader who likes a bit of spooky with their silly, it's just right. And Frankie's loyalty to Sylvia is really rather sweet.

What to read next

If they want to see how it all started, Return of the Hungry Hamster is the book where Uncle Charlie hands Joe the amulet and tells him to be careful what he wishes for.