PJ AND THE PARANORMAL PURSUERS: THE PHANTOMS OF PITTENWEEM by Jacqui Dempster

Book Review

Matthew Johns

The second book in a young adult series sees PJ and his friends (the titular Paranormal Pursuers) facing another challenge from beyond the grave. After losing his mother, PJ moves from New York to Edinburgh to live with his aunt – this part of his journey is detailed in the first book.

As this book opens, PJ is a relatively popular boy at school – being an American in a Scottish school gives him a certain degree of celebrity. But when his close friend Freya is accused of being a witch by a girl she used to think was a friend, after a spooky occurrence at a coffee shop, he chooses to stand by Freya, risking his popularity.

PJ and his friends are invited to visit the village of Pittenweem to stay with Heather, and they soon find themselves plunged into yet another paranormal adventure! The bed and breakfast they are staying at seems to be haunted, and Heather seems oddly troubled – can the intrepid pursuers get to the bottom of things?

This book can’t help but appear vaguely redolent of Scooby-Doo and Mystery Incorporated, but not in a bad way. PJ and his gang have a great time exploring the village of Pittenweem and get into all sorts of scrapes. There are lots of references to contemporary methods and tools for ghost hunting, so if you’re new to that, it’s definitely educational!

It took me a while to get used to the narrative style, though. As PJ is a native New Yorker, he refers to his dead ‘mom’ and ‘sidewalks’ and uses other common Americanisms, so this, combined with his very Scottish friends, makes it seem a little odd at first. There’s also a fair bit of American teen speak – ‘OMG’, ‘she’s cray-cray’ and such, which can be a little jarring at times when appearing alongside some over-stereotypical Scottish dialogue like ‘Aw man, this is braw’ and ‘Dae ye no want that wee bit bacon there’. However, Dempster makes it work somehow, and the book overall is an enjoyable teenage romp.

If you’re looking for something to keep a youngster in your life entertained or fancy some light-hearted ghost hunting, then check this one out. It’s easy reading, the characters are likeable, and the story is good fun.