The Dark Missions of Edgar Brim

Gr 7 Up—Nightmares have plagued Edgar Brim from the time he was small. At nine, the Victorian lad is orphaned after his father is seemingly frightened to death after watching a dark play from one of his favorite horror writers. Edgar is sent to boarding school in the Scottish Highlands, where he endures unchecked bullying and continued dreams of being attacked by monsters. When his one true friend, Tiger Tilley, is expelled from the exclusive boys school for masquerading as a boy, Edgar goes to find her in London. Professor Lear follows him, thinking Edgar's night terrors hold the key to solving some vicious local murders, and orchestrates a meeting with the Crypto-Anthropology Society of the Queen's Empire. Convinced that shared nightmares portend more attacks, Lear convinces Edgar, Tiger, and his grandchildren, Lucy and Jonathan, to begin an earnest campaign to find and destroy the evil creature that is on the loose. After channeling monsters and demons from the literature of Edgar Allan Poe and others, the vigilantes are led to Dracula's creator, Bram Stoker, whose London stage plays hold clues to the death of Edgar's father. A meandering plot and numerous red herrings are merely contrivances for introducing readers to elements of Victorian horror literature. The main characters aren't fully developed, and teens will struggle to finish.