posted on 21 Nov 2023

Snake in the Loft and The Incredible Shrinking Ghost: two new books from Brian Moses

One thing links these two new releases from author and poet, Brian Moses – ghosts! In the case of Snake in the Loft, Daniel’s ghostly problems are really just one of several that he’s got to deal with. The first, and possibly the most pressing, is the snake Daniel’s father has decided to keep in the loft. Having a python in the space above your bedroom would be enough to unnerve the very bravest – and, to be fair, that’s not a description you’d give to Daniel. But it’s also meant that his mom has left them over his dad’s refusal to get rid of the reptile and this isn’t making Daniel’s life seem any easier.

The decision to keep a snake in the loft isn't as random as it may seem because Daniel’s dad is a snake keeper at the zoo (like his dad before him) and knows what he’s doing. But, equally, I’m sure you can see Daniel’s mom’s point here – domestic houses and massive pythons aren’t natural bedfellows.

To further compound Daniel’s misery, he’s being systematically bullied by Kelly Horton – one mean girl with a gang of three other hard-knocks who love picking on the young boy and his friends. They lie in wait for him after school with some new horrible torture to inflict (sloppy kisses anyone?).

However, events take a distinctly unexpected turn when two seemingly disparate events start to come together: firstly, there are the rumours that the school may be haunted by the ghost of a German airman shot down during the war, and secondly, Kelly Horton develops an obsession with the snake in Daniel’s attic.

Brian Moses skilfully carves out a path for these two events to come together into a high-energy, exciting and unexpected climax. Along the way we’ll discover what information Daniel’s granddad can thrown on the issue of ghostly Germans; he’s also at the heart of the animosity between Daniel’s family and the Horton clan. And, just who is it that will ultimately save one of the youngsters from the coils of the python?

Obviously, I’m not telling because you will want to read it for yourself. But what I am prepared to do is to tell you a bit more about Moses’ other newly released book, The Incredible Shrinking Ghost. Perhaps a bit more light-hearted than Snake in the Loft, this story starts with Alex and Phoebe who are the children of the town’s undertaker. While sitting in the local churchyard speculating about ghosts and the best questions you could ask one, they discover they are being watched by Walter, the ghost of a young ten-year-old boy who died falling from a roof in the reign of George I.

Alex and Phoebe don’t do what you or I might do – run away as fast as they could go; no, they stay, chat and make friends with poor little Walter. After all – he’s bored to death after all this time stuck in the churchyard.

What they also discover is that Walter can – with great effort and with accompanying farty sound effects – shrink down to pocket size. And, ensconced in Alex’s pocket he is smuggled out into the big, wide world to experience modern day. But, there’s a problem. He can’t get back into the churchyard where he belongs. No matter how hard they all try, he seems to be barred from ever returning and they all have to contemplate the idea that Walter’s going to have to stay with Alex and Phoebe long term.

Keeping a ghost hidden shouldn’t, you’d have thought, be too difficult. But, of course, you’d be wrong. Especially if you share a class with Rafe – a boisterous boy who wants to poke his nose into Phoebe’s business and seems to have an unerring knack of spotting something is going on. He’s also got a somewhat morbid turn of mind because his biggest wish in life is to get a look inside one of the coffins (complete with dead body of course) in the undertakers shop.

Suffice it to say that once Rafe gets on the trail, proof of Walter’s existence becomes his obsession and Phoebe and Alex’s attempts to protect their new friend isn’t helped when Walter introduces them to some of his (dead) friends and acquaintances. Oh, and just to add a little more spice, ghostly Walter develops a passion for heavy metal music and air guitar!

What will happen to the ghostly crew? Can they find their way in and out of the graveyard? Will Rafe and his journalist friends reveal the secrets of the afterlife?

You’ll only get an answer to these and plenty of other questions if you read the book for yourself.

Both of these titles come from Candy Jar Books and you can get them from your local independent bookshop – who will be glad to order them for you if they don’t have them on the shelf.

 

Terry Potter

November 2023