Derek Landy, Skulduggery Pleasant

After 12-year-old Stephanie Edgley inherits her uncle's estate, she discovers that the eccentric author who doted on her had a lot more going on in his life than she could have imagined. As it turns out, the novels Gordon Edgley wrote about "horrible monsters and scary stuff and bad people doing worse things" were based largely on his own real-life experiences. Alone in Gordon's house, Stephanie is suddenly and violently introduced to the world he wrote about, and save—not for the last time—by Gordon's old friend Skulduggery Pleasant. Skulduggery is a skeleton who manages to look less conspicuous when the situation requires by wrapping himself up, Invisible Man-like, in a coat and scarf, a frizzy wig and wide-brimmed hat. He is also a detective, investigating transgressions in the magical world he inhabits, and Stephanie becomes in due course his assistant. Dangerous adventures ensue, with nothing less than the fate of the world at stake.

Skulduggery Pleasant is the first in a new series featuring Stephanie and the skeletal detective. It's easy to imagine a successful string of books following from this introduction: more magic and monsters; Stephanie's exploration of Skulduggery's world and of her own abilities; the "normal" world's incomprehension of and even hostility toward magic. There are some superficial similarities between Landy's story and the Harry Potter books: a pre-teen protagonist with as yet unrealized powers and some kind of magical birthright is thrust into a supernatural realm that exists alongside our own reality. But the world Landy has created is not as complex as the Potter universe, and his characters are unlikely to inspire debate among adult readers about their motivations. But unfair comparison with Rowling's oeuvre aside, Landy's Skulduggery is a well-written and above all charming book. What makes it shine is the playful interaction between Skulduggery and Stephanie:

"You can't leave me alone," she said, following him into the living room.

"No," he corrected, "I can. You'll be perfectly safe."

"The front door's off!"

"Well, yes. You'll be perfectly safe as long as they don't come through the front door."

He pulled on his coat, but she snatched his hat away.

"Are you taking my hat hostage?" he asked doubtfully.

The relationship is fun to watch because of the banter and because Skulduggery, while the older of the two by far, is not above being childishly irresponsible. Landy also occasionally ratchets up the tension. There are a great many fight scenes, with the good guys using their various powers to combat different sorts of monsters. But the best bit of suspense—it certainly got my eleven-year-old excited about the book—comes near the beginning of the story, when Stephanie so unwisely spends the night alone in Gordon Edgley's creepy mansion. You know that can't end well....

Landy's Skulduggery won't assume the Potter mantle—if such a thing were even possible—but it is highly readable and funny, a charming page-turner for the YA crowd.