GHOUL STRIKE!
by Andrew Newbound
Three years ago, 12-year-old Brit Alannah Malarra's ghost-hunting parents vanished on a mission to the Scottish Highlands. She took up the family business, but with highly mercenary objectives. She uses her psychic powers to get rid of ghosts with the help of her lock-picking buddy, 11-year-old Wortley Flint, her housekeeper's son, but she snatches any treasures the ghosts guard. Certain they're alive, Alannah uses the fortune to fund the hunt for her parents. On a routine ghost hunt, Alannah stumbles upon a gate to the Dark Dimension and the A.N.G.E.L. agents (Attack-ready Network of Global Evanescent Law-enforcers) from a higher realm tasked with keeping it closed. Notorious Gnarl Krot is about to unleash his Gargoyles and Ghouls on Earth as a stepping stone to Evan City; only Alannah and A.N.G.E.L. agent Flhi Swift stand in his way. Newbound's debut effectively sets up the milieu for his projected series and keeps the pages turning with laughs and suspense. However, Alannah's avarice is a bit alarming at times despite her good intentions, and the title's change from the original British Demon Strike will mystify readers. (Funny paranormal adventure. 8-12)