Lloyd
Jones, Rob. Wild Boy & the Black Terror.
Candlewick Press 2015 327p $16.99 ISBN 978-0-7636-6253-0 ms/jr Mystery/Detective VG-BN
This is a wildly creative novel about a villain
who hopes to poison all of London and Wild Boy, a former circus freak (owing to
hair that grows all over his body) with extraordinary abilities in solving
crimes. It would be a toss-up as to which quality of
Rob Lloyd Jones’s writing is more powerful: his descriptions of climate,
locations, time periods and characters; his excitingly vivid plot with its continual
and seamless conflicts; or his ability to weave words together to create
intrigue. The plot begins with a
reminder that Wild Boy already has the reputation of being a monster, and
as with most rumors, his reputation has been blown out of context. Wild Boy’s sidekick, Clarissa, is herself a
former circus performer, and the two have teamed up for life. Their mentor is Marcus, a member of the
Gentlemen, a secret group that protects London.
The new crime? A demonic force
has the capability of rendering its victims fearful as they slide into
death. This demon is attempting to find a black diamond, of
which only four remain, thus avenging some atrocity that occurred in India years
before. When Queen Victoria’s servant,
Prendergrast, opens a package meant for the queen, he becomes the first victim of the demon. As the rising action progresses, Marcus is
also hit with the disabling poison. Wild
Boy and Clarissa have to save him, and the only way they can do that is to
track all evidence to the perpetrator and get a sample of his blood to create
an antidote. Three men stand out
as being capable
of this crime. Readers will particularly
enjoy putting together the evidence to figure out who is trying to avenge past
deeds by terrorizing London.
Summary: Wild Boy and Clarissa must use their unusual abilities to save
London from the Black Terror, a poison that turns victims’ fears into nightmares
before they die. Wild Boy must find
rare black diamonds to catch the demonic force known as Malphas.
Crime-Fiction --Martha
Squaresky
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