Barry Hutchison’s A New York Nightmare is the second Spectre Collectors adventure, a daft and very fast ghost-hunting comedy for 10 year olds about a boy who’s only been in the job for a week.<\/p>\n
Denzel and his best mate Smithy have just joined the Spectre Collectors, a top-secret organisation that protects the world from ghosts. Smithy has a big secret of his own. It’s the bombshell of the first book, so it’s best left for your reader to find there.<\/p>\n
Neither of them is getting the hang of it. The proper agents have magic and all the guns in the world. Denzel has a torch, a walkie-talkie and a ring that’s cutting off the blood to his finger.<\/p>\n
It opens in a creepy abandoned fairground, where the two of them are sent into the Ghost Train. Sharks’ teeth! Bats! A monster that’s either a monkey or a bear, depending on who you ask. It all turns out to be an initiation prank. Then a real ghost train comes smashing through the wall, heading straight for Denzel.<\/p>\n
Nobody knows why ghosts keep coming for him. So he’s packed off to New York, squashed into “Economy E Class” (the E stands for Economy), and teleported into mid-air above the city by mistake.<\/p>\n
And the American team? It’s just two kids, Weinberg and Martinez, in a basement under the Empire State Building. And somebody keeps whispering in Denzel’s head. Go left. Hurry. He is coming.<\/p>\n
Smithy gets most of the laughs. He keeps asking “What would you rather?” questions (a cage with a clown dressed as a bear, or a bear dressed as a clown?). When he panics he claims he’s just communicating with dolphins. It’s silly, quick and very quotable.<\/p>\n
It’s worth knowing the agents carry big guns and use them, and there are some properly creepy moments, like a kind old doorman whose eyes go glassy as he whispers a warning. It’s all mixed in with jokes, so it’s more spooky fun than scary.<\/p>\n
Do start with Too Ghoul For School if Denzel is new to your reader, though. This one takes the first book’s big surprise as read from the very first page.<\/p>\n
For another ordinary kid pulled into a secret ghost-busting world, try Embassy of the Dead. Jake Green found out by accident that he can see ghosts, and staying alive has been a lot more complicated ever since.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Barry Hutchison’s A New York Nightmare is the second Spectre Collectors adventure, a daft and very fast ghost-hunting comedy for 10 year olds about a boy who’s only been in the job for a week. Denzel and his best mate Smithy have just joined the Spectre Collectors, a top-secret organisation that protects the world from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13791,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_next_read_post_id":7321,"lr_next_read_anchor":"Embassy of the Dead","lr_seo_hook":"An initiation prank, a real ghost train and a voice in Denzel's head.","lr_series_id":387,"lr_series_name":"Spectre Collectors","lr_series_position":2,"lr_series_label":"","lr_author_order":""},"book_tag":[1050],"age_group":[29],"book_type":[1044],"book_author":[130],"class_list":["post-13792","our-books","type-our-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","book_tag-action-books","age_group-books-for-10-year-olds","book_type-paid","book_author-barry-hutchison"],"yoast_title":"Spectre Collectors: A New York Nightmare! by Barry Hutchison | Little Reads","yoast_metadesc":"An initiation prank, a real ghost train and a voice in Denzel's head. For ages 10+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n