Gloom Town by Ronald L. Smith

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This story tell about two friends team up to save their town from an ancient supernatural evil. [1]   

Summary

When twelve year old boy named Rory applies for a job at a spooky old mansion in his gloomy seaside town, he finds out the owner, Lord Foxglove, odd and annoying. But he and his mother need the money, so he takes the job anyway. Rory later finds out that his new boss is not just strange, he’s not even human—and he’s trying to steal the townspeople’s shadows. Together, Rory and his friend Isabella set out to uncover exactly what Foxglove and his otherworldly accomplices are planning and devise a strategy to defeat them. But can two kids beat a group of ancient evil beings who are determined to take over the world? [2]

Pros

Stephanie as one of the reader gave her review about this book. She explained there are multiples turns to the story. It's not that the surprises are too much out of left field. But when there's three narrative turns, their placement will almost necessarily be awkward. The climax and long epilogue make this feel more like a prologue to an already existing story rather than a stand alone. Much of the tension also has an odd balance. The protagonists are young. And given the rules of the world, there's a limit to what they can conceivably do. But they should still have some agency over what happens in order for there to be a victory. Instead, the main plot resolution is practically an accident, a trinket ex machina. Given their cleverness and how hard they worked [3]

Other reader on one of online site gave her comment, she said this story was very entertaining. The story is full of quaky characters, action, mystery and a fun moral. The way the author presented the characters and how all of them (primary or secondary) were unique and played an important role in the story. It was fun to follow the main character on his journey. The setting was gloomy (definitely an appropriate title) and the story had some darker moments. Nothing scary of traumatizing but darkish none the less. The way the character dealt with his problems and the way he stood up for his family also makes this story a heartwarming one. It recommend to younger readers looking for something different and off the wall, but also full of action and real humanity. [4] 

References