Book Nook: Death and Douglas

I recently had a chance to review Death and Douglas, a mystery book for middle-grade readers with a unique setting - a funeral home. Douglas Mortimer grew up around death, as his family has been in the funeral home business for generations. But in his quiet town, murder is something quite different. Right around Halloween, murder victims start showing up in the funeral home.

This book is full of dark humor, and an appropriate amount of horror for middle-grade readers. It's not gory, although it doesn't shy away from elements of the funeral home process either. My daughter, who doesn't normally like it when people die in books, was really hooked (it helped that the people who died weren't really full-fledged characters she had gotten to know).

Adult readers who appreciate the irony and wit of an author like Edgar Allan Poe will also find things to enjoy about this book - as a book geared for younger readers, it's a fast read, and a great option for parents and kids who like to read the same books to discuss!

About the Author

J. W. Ocker is the Edgar Award–winning author of Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe. His work has appeared in Rue Morgue magazine, the Boston Globe, CNN, the Atlantic, and other places people stick writing. He’s from Maryland but has lived in New Hampshire since 2008. This is his first book for children.