A Taste For Monsters by Matthew Kirby - ADVISABLE

Kirby, Matthew J. A Taste For Monsters, 352 pages.  Scholastic Press, OCTOBER 2016.  Language: G (3 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (innuendo); Violence: PG-13 (graphic coroner’s report).

Getting a job at the hospital may be Evelyn’s last chance to lift herself from a life of poverty.  Her assignment, however, is extremely unusual – daily companion to Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man.  When a prostitute is murdered on the streets of London, a ghost appears in Merrick’s room, disturbing both of them mightly.  Another murder brings a more violent ghost and Evelyn knows she has to try something, anything, to stop these specters.

Kirby turns his hand to the macabre for his latest novel.  His twist on the Jack the Ripper mystique is interesting; coupled with a humanizing look at the end Merrick’s life, it is an appealing slice of history.

MS, HS - ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher