An emphatic, 'Meh'. It was fine. I understand that it's a book geared towards a younger audience, which is why the level of gore kind of surprised me. That, coupled with the overly simplistic characters/writing did not do it for me. Mildly curious what happens next, but will probably just find an online plot summary. Normally I'm a Horowitz fan, but it looks like I don't enjoy his writing for kids.