The Snatcher of Raven Hollow (Monsterious, Book 2) - Softcover

McMann, Matt

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0593530748 ISBN 13: 9780593530740

Verlag: Penguin Young Readers Group, 2023

Inhaltsangabe

This series of terrifying standalone tales that combine monsters + mysteries is perfect for fans of Goosebumps.

“Spine-chilling and creepy!” —Max Brallier, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Kids on Earth, on Escape From Grimstone Manor (Monsterious, Book 1)

When her small town is rocked by a series of baby kidnappings, Teo vows to spend her summer break solving the mystery, and convinces her friend Logan—who would much rather spend his vacation relaxing—to help.

Their search for answers soon leads them to the woods at the edge of town, and Teo fears some kind of supernatural creature might be behind the snatchings. What else could explain the creepy figure they see moving through the trees, or the bloodcurdling screams coming from the forest at dusk?

Logan has his doubts, but when another child is taken, there's no time to waste. Can he and Teo get to the bottom of the kidnappings and rescue the missing babies before it's too late?

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

As a professional musician, Matt McMann played an NFL stadium, a cruise ship, and the International Twins Convention. Now he writes the kind of spooky mystery adventure books he loved as a kid. He’s hiked the Pacific Northwest, cruised Loch Ness, and chased a ghost on a mountain. While he missed Bigfoot and Nessie, he caught the ghost. He enjoys brainstorming new books with his wife, New York Times bestselling author Lisa McMann, viewing his son Kilian McMann’s artwork, and watching his daughter, actor Kennedy McMann, on television. Visit him online at mattmcmann.com, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @matt_mcmann.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Chapter 1

"Hey, check that out," Teo said.

Logan looked down the sidewalk, squinting in the blinding summer sun. Outwardly, Logan and Teo were opposites-he was short and stocky, with blond surfer-boy hair and pale skin, while Teo was tall and willowy, with brown skin and short ink-black hair. They'd been best friends since the third grade, when she'd stopped Robby Thomas from sticking Logan's head through the monkey bars. Again.

"What is it?" he asked, shielding his eyes.

"I think it's a stroller," she said.

"How did a stroller end up on the side of the road?"

"Ooh, maybe there's a baby inside!"

Logan sighed. Teo always hoped for things to be more exciting than they actually were. In their small town of Raven Hollow, she was usually disappointed. "Right," he said. "I'm sure someone just abandoned their baby."

They walked over to the stroller.

It was empty.

"It probably fell off a truck when someone was moving," Logan said.

"Or maybe they threw it away on purpose," Teo said mysteriously.

"Why toss it? This looks almost new."

She chewed her lip. "I guess. Hey, there's a name on it-Dankworth." She scrunched up her nose as she pulled out her phone and began typing. "Sounds like the smell of a swampy-butt diaper." A few moments later, she looked up. "Got it."

"Got what?"

"An address. Only one Dankworth in town. It's not far. Maybe we should return this."

"But what about the pool?" Logan whined. It was sweltering, and he'd already put on sunscreen to keep from turning into Lobster Boy. Their plan to swim at the community center sounded a lot better than pushing a random stroller across town.

"Come on, Logan. It'll be an adventure."

He rolled his eyes. "What could possibly be adventurous about an empty stroller?"

Chapter 2

The Dankworths' house was small but well-kept, though the front lawn was overgrown and full of dandelions. Logan stayed with the stroller beside the porch steps while Teo knocked on the front door.

It opened abruptly. A young man with bags under his eyes and a short, ragged-looking beard stood in the doorway. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"Uh . . . um . . . Mr. Dankworth?" Teo said. Her normal confidence was shaken by the man's harsh tone. "We . . . uh . . . found your stroller and just wanted to bring it back."

He looked confused for a moment before glancing past her to where Logan stood with the stroller. Logan gave an awkward wave. Mr. Dankworth didn't look irritated anymore. He looked angry. Without another word, he slammed the door in Teo's face.

She raised an eyebrow at Logan.

"That was weird," he said.

She walked down the steps. "And super rude."

"Think we should leave it?"

"I may have picked up on an I-don't-want-it vibe."

"Observant of you."

The door opened again, and a young woman stepped onto the porch, closing the door softly behind her. She was pale and looked like she hadn't slept in a week. "I'm sorry, kids. My husband . . . he's having a difficult time. We both are."

The woman noticed the stroller.

Then she put her face in her hands and began to sob.

Teo looked at Logan, her eyes wide. He shifted uncomfortably. He never knew what to do when people cried, especially grown-ups.

"Are you . . . okay?" he asked, then winced. Obviously not, Sherlock.

"Sorry." The woman sniffed, wiping her face with her sleeve. "I didn't mean to fall apart on you. Been doing that a lot lately."

"Do you need help?" Teo asked tentatively.

Mrs. Dankworth's lip trembled, and Logan felt his stomach clench. He was afraid she was about to start crying again.

"You can't help," she said. "It's our baby . . . She was stolen."

Chapter 3

Logan stared at Mrs. Dankworth in stunned confusion. "Stolen? What do you mean?"

"Our daughter, Ellie, was taken from our nursery," she said.

"That's terrible," Teo said. "But I'm sure the police will find her."

The woman shook her head. "They don't have any leads. No call for ransom. Nothing. She just vanished one night." Mrs. Dankworth glanced at the stroller, then looked quickly away. "The stroller was too painful a reminder."

"So that's why you left it on the side of the road?" Logan asked.

"It was rattling in the back of our van when I was driving, making me think of Ellie. I couldn't take it anymore, so I stopped and threw it out."

Teo hesitated before saying almost apologetically, "Technically, that's littering."

Logan cringed. Sometimes that girl just couldn't help herself.

Mrs. Dankworth gave Teo a long, blank stare. Finally, she climbed the porch steps and said, "Thanks for being thoughtful, but please, take it away."

"We're really sorry-" Logan began, but the woman closed the door behind her. As he stared at the house, a chill seeped into his stomach.

"Wow, that is seriously awful," Teo said.

"And strange. I mean, who steals a baby?"

"So what do we do with the stroller? It's too nice to trash it."

"My cousin Gabby is still a baby. Maybe my aunt Roslyn can use it."

Logan called his aunt, but she didn't need one and suggested they donate it to the thrift store. They walked to Crawly Street and left the stroller at the drop-off door behind the shop. Eager to escape the heat, they wandered inside, skimming used paperbacks and looking at peculiar paintings.

Teo caught Logan sniffing a book. One of her eyebrows arched so high it disappeared behind her bangs.

"What?" he asked. "I like the smell of old books."

She turned away, muttering, "You are so weird."

When they walked outside, Teo grabbed Logan's arm and pointed. In the store window was a flyer with the photo of a baby. The caption said the child was missing and pleaded for information.

"Sound familiar?" Teo asked.

"But the last name's not Dankworth," Logan said. "It's a different family. So there are two missing babies in town?" A shiver ran through him as he thought of his seven-year-old sister, Meg. Hardly a baby, but still . . . "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Teo said with a determined gleam in her eye. "But we're going to find out."

Chapter 4

The creature stretched its long arms and sat up, blinking sleepily. Shafts of sunlight streamed through a rift in the cave ceiling, filling the chamber with a soft golden glow. Turning its back to the light, the creature lay down again and shifted to a more comfortable position on the rocky floor.

A few feet away, a sharp cry rang out, then faded to a gurgling murmur. The creature did not stir. When the heat faded and the darkness came, it would rise.

That was its favorite time to hunt.

Chapter 5

Teo sat at her bedroom desk with her laptop open, while Logan sprawled on a beanbag chair with his phone. They were scrolling through internet search results for "who steals babies?" They came across a news report on the missing babies in Raven Hollow, but it had very little information, quoting the police as saying, "The investigation is ongoing."

Teo read another article and snorted in disgust. "Did you know some women pretend to be pregnant, then steal babies just to keep their boyfriend or husband from leaving them? No offense, but you all aren't worth it."

"No argument from me," Logan said. "Looks like it sometimes happens with carjacking too. The thief doesn't realize there's a baby in the back seat."

"Most of the stories I'm seeing are about babies being taken from public places-parks, train stations, carnivals, that kind of thing."

"Yeah, and when it happens at a house, it's usually during the day by someone who befriended the parents so they can steal the baby. Talk about creepy." Logan tossed his phone onto Teo's bed....

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Penguin Young Readers Group
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2023
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593530748
• ISBN 13: 9780593530740
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 209
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: preigu GmbH & Co. KG; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; Niedersachsen; 49078; Deutschland