An excellent mix of urban fantasy and horror that can be appreciated by children and adults.
I loved the world building, the fast paced plot and the well rounded characters
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I hadn’t read any of Cat Gray’s books before! This is her second for Usborne following ‘Spellstoppers’ in 2022. Thankfully, sometimes when I get sent a book unsolicited, it’s one of the ones that I just can’t stop raving about! You’ll see that the copy I read is a proof (pre-pub edition). Perfectly timed for the halloween season, ‘The Spirit Snatcher’ has got more ghouls and monsters in than you can imagine - and there’s a very seriously brain-taxing spine-tingling mystery to solve! 12 yr old Pip Ruskin is an only child, his parents are more than eccentric, and he’s mortified by them and loves them in equal measures - which presents the odd awkward situation on occasion. His mother is a scientist and she has a new job in London, and the story begins with them leaving their cosy home for the unknown - including a new in-term school start for Pip. The new home is in the centre of London, hidden away in the timeless ‘Elbow Alley’, you’d never know it was there. Elbow Alley has a bookshop, a pub, a bakery, a millinery and more, but the run down shop and flat that Pip is to live in looks and smells like someone left in a hurry. Pip has his worries - his parents, this new place, starting a new school, no friends, and now after the first night of his new life something terribly horrendous has happened… his parents have become vacant and zombie-like, they don’t even move or speak properly. Enter Fliss. Fliss lives in the pub with her dad (her mum’s off on a supernatural expedition abroad) and her little dog. It seems Fliss might be able to help, in fact it seems that Fliss is over-excited to help, for she also has no friends. She also knows more about hags, banshees, vampires, ghouls and werewolves than your average human(-ish). Pip is horrified to discover his parents have been ‘spirit-snatched’ and it’s a race against time before his 13th birthday before his fate will be the same!!!! Fliss and Pip, together, go on a daring mission to save Pip’s parents and to restore order on Elbow Alley. To do this they have to interview and spy on the residents who are not at all what they seem, if you look VERY closely… the bookseller might not be quite all there, the cafe owner might have clawed feet, the art gallery’s deathly-looking and pale proprietor seems rather thirsty come nightfall… It’s a gripping read!! You’ll be second-guessing the true identity of the spirit snatcher right until the reveal at the very end - VERY CLEVER!! Lots of humour, tweeny angst and gutsy sleuthing. Loved it!

Be careful what you wish for, here, as Pip wants a more level-headed, normal couple of parents than the ones he has – the optimistic antiques dealer with bad taste in clothes, and his notably-coiffed scientist mother with the ridiculous ideas about vegan pickled cuisine, and their PDAs. He frets about fitting in so much he wears the same drab clothes every day so as to not ever stand out. Anyway, they've found a new job/antiques store/flat in London, so he has a chance to start over at their new home, and – after the half-term break – a new school. But lorks a mercy, when they move to their dump of a new place, they certainly do stand out. They are the only humans on the street, and when Pip gets immediately warned of something nasty, it's bound to happen. Overnight his parents are soulless couch potatoes, stuck watching the daytime and mobile phone mince they've spent their lives ignoring most happily up to now. What has happened, and can they be put right? And can Pip get them back to abnormal before Hallowe'en, when his reprieve from school ends – but he comes of the age when he too can be attacked in the same way?

Normally you get books with Hallowe'en theming that sit on a storage shelf in the library for eleven months of the year, and they just get on with their pumpkinny spookiness for the season and that's it. This certainly doesn't over-play the time it's set, but it does give a really strong deadline for Pip and his new friend Fliss, with what seems to be a danger nobody can do anything about, and one nobody can even identify. The story the two of them follow involves potential death at the hands of ghouls, screeching harpies needing revenge, vampires – I mean sometimes you really need to think about this fact, as it's the most bloodless, mild peril kind of book at times, but it certainly puts the characters through the mill while the days tick down.

And luckily I think this is a strong enough monster fantasy drama for it to be read other times of the year as well. The setting, a weirdly Dickensian sort of enclave of non-humans, is distinctive, and the leads are engaging characters. And the lesson here, about what you want from your parents and what you want from life – both as regards standing out, embarrassment, conformity, etc – is decently done, and not over-played. All told it's a lively piece, easily giving enough entertainment when read in the specific October week it's set, but a strong four stars any time of the year.

An excellent story for Hallowe'en . Pip and Fliss are such great characters and the story is exciting and fast paced. I decided not to read it to our youngest (7) as her having nightmares is something I get into a lot of trouble for but with a little editing out (by me) she would probably be fine.

When Pip moves to Elbow Alley with his parents, he isn’t given a great first impression or much of a welcome. The neighbours seem to want rid of his family for no apparent reason at all. On their first night in their new home, his parents dance and laugh and make him embarrassed. However, when Pip wakes in the morning, it is to discover his parents have been “spirit snatched”.

It turns out Elbow Alley is made up of magical folk like harpies, sylphs, werewolves and an unwelcome spirit snatcher. Becoming fast friends and hunters with Fliss, the werewolf’s daughter, the pair embark on a highly dangerous search for the spirit snatcher so those who have become empty shells can be restored.

Asking for help from vampires, shapeshifters and harpies comes with its interesting outcomes but Pip is determined to get his family back. Finding courage he didn’t know he had, Pip continues to discover new answers and meet deadly scenarios.

Thrilling, mysterious and filled with the unlikeliest of neighbours, I could not stop reading this. It has adventure, unlikely heroes, a brilliant cast of characters and a burgeoning friendship and acceptance of “standing out from the crowds!”

Our main character is a 12 year old boy called Pip whose parents happen to be quite bold, eccentric and flamboyant. They seem to draw attention everywhere they go and Pip despises it; he so desperately wants to fit in and just be normal, like everyone else. The family is having to re-locate to London to a street called Elbow Alley and the story is set there from then on. Upon moving in Pip notices that Elbow Alley is a little unusual and hates his new home despite the parents being extremely excited. Only one night later, Pip finds his parents with blank expressions on their face and acting nothing like themselves, he can’t quite understand what has happened and sets out on a quest to figure it out. He meets a girl called Fliss and together they have lots of adventures.

The story was captivating and just flows, there’s not a moment to get bored. It keeps your mind working too, trying to solve the mysteries with the characters. Descriptions, in my opinion, are vivid enough to build mental images of the characters and the slight problem here is that as the story is targeted at 8-12 year olds, younger impressionable children may find it scary. As an adult, I had a few dreams about it and I rarely dream. I generally avoid horror stories/movies for that reason and this has made quite an impact.

I think it is perfectly suitable for children 12 years and over in terms of content but I would recommend that parents/educators read it ahead of the children because they know their young readers best.

The story has a sweet ending but be prepared to be immersed into the world of spirits, werewolves, ghouls, hags and vampires. The language makes the story accessible for 8 year olds and over, the content for 12+ I would say and is best checked by adults beforehand. 5* because the story is fascinating, it will just have to find its niche reading community.

Thank you so much to Usborne and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Pip’s family have just moved to a small alley in London, but something is off with the place. The first night there and his parents spirits are snatched in the middle of the night. His neighbour Fliss and her dog Splodge help him with the mystery to figure out who the spirit snatcher is and to get his parents, all whilst back meeting an array of magical characters.

I loved all the characters that we meet along this mystery, from ghouls, werewolves, shapeshifters, ghosts, harpy’s and many more. I loved how they interacted with each other, how we came to discover them so casually as though they were no different to anyone else. I found meeting them and discovering them whilst also unfurling the mystery was so much fun and probably my favourite element in the book was meeting all these supernatural beings.

I really enjoyed the friendship that formed between Fliss and Pip, neither of them had experience with friendship so they formed a really tight bond almost instantly and helped the other grow and learn about themselves. They worked really well together and were able to bounce off the clues and tactics for figuring out who the snatcher was and how they were going to approach it when they found them. I liked that as each day went by they got closer and more connected and that Pip wouldn’t let Fliss down when things went a little wrong.

The mystery itself was really clever, I was so certain from the start who it was and I was pleasantly surprised and agasp when I found out who it actually was. It was a clever derailing tactic on the authors part and I enjoyed being tricked and given a ploy to drift away from who it really was. I loved trying to piece together everything and seeing the adventure and the danger that these two kids kept getting themselves into, all to end the snatchers rein.

I really liked this book, it was a fun read and a great Halloween read, or if you love supernatural themed stories then it’s great anytime of year. Children are going to really really enjoy this book, it got so many different elements to it and the characters are all wonderfully created and the mystery and story are very craftily written.

Pip wants nothing more than to fit in and for his parents to be less eccentric than they are. As they head to London to begin a new life, he is dreading his new school and is thankful he has a few weeks before he needs to start. Arriving in Elbow Alley is far from what Pip was expecting, especially not when confronted by a girl who warns him to leave immediately. On their first night, Pip is woken by a strange mist-like apparition which enters his room causing him to feel strange; however, it quickly leaves and Pip begins to think it was just a dream until he awakes the next morning to find his usually bouncy parents sitting lifeless in front of the TV. Heading out, Pip bumps into Fliss, the girl who warned him against staying the pervious day. When he tells her about his parents, she informs him they have been spirit snatched and the same fate awaits him and Fliss when they turn 13 in two days' time. Can the pair, along with Fliss's dog Splodge, get to the bottom of who is snatching spirits before it's too late?

The Spirit Snatcher has all the ingredients for a captivating read: a spooky setting, a mystery to solve, brilliantly engaging characters, a cute dog and the ability to draw reads in from the start. Mix them all together and you have a book that I promise you won't be able to put down.

Pip is a character many will be able to relate to as he is profoundly embarrassed by his parents and wants nothing more than to blend in and have a 'normal' life. The move to London is supposed to be a new start but he really can't see his parents changing their ways any time soon. The phrase 'be careful what you wish for...' springs to mind here as Pip ultimately gets what he wants: once his parents have been spirit-snatched, they do nothing but sit in front of their TV and phone, enabling Pip to eat all the junk food he wants. However, he soon realises that all he actually wants is to have his parents back, eccentricities and all. Perhaps it also helps that the residents of Elbow Lane are far from your usual neighbours. As Pip gets to know Fliss, she shows him that blending in isn't everybody's goal in life. I loved her individuality and her sense of self.

The Spirit Snatcher is a book that will remind you that it's OK to be yourself and that family aren't always as embarrassing as they may seem (I've been telling my son that for years!). Publishing at the end of September, The Spirit Snatcher is the perfect read to cosy up with as the evenings turn chilly and you need a friend to keep you company. It's a brilliant read and one I know will go down well in school next term.

This is proper Halloween reading! Ghouls, ghosts, spirit snatchers, secrets, lies and a massive chunk of searching! Thoroughly enjoyed this: great characters, great setting (not that I’d visit) and a wonderful sense of community! Pip’s great!

This is a story about a boy moving into a house with neighbours that are werewolves and banshees. He has to stop the spirit-snatcher in time to save his own soul.

Now, that sounds like one insane plot. But I think it is exactly that insanity that will endear it to my more mature students. It is definitely more a book for KS3 students even though the writing itself is not challenging for the younger ones.