I found this slightly-battered softcover at Savers, and thought it looked like fun - not least because the cover reminded me of a Tentacles Travel Bug that I sent traveling not long ago!

This book features young teen cousins whose guardian specializes in "cryptids", allegedly-mythical beings that he believes actually exist. Here, he's out to try and capture a giant squid alive.

There's an elaborate cast-of-characters up front, and it seems that this story occurs in the middle of a rather busy series, with secrets still to be unraveled in future volumes. There are some interesting creatures to be met with here, from baby dinosaurs (via a previous book's expedition) to giant squid, but the focus seems to be on the many, many characters who enjoy manipulating and outwitting each other for reasons that are not always clear. There's a surprising amount of bloodshed, too, most of it via human hands (the bad guys do most of the killing, but the good guys occasionally defend themselves very forcefully).

I plan to leave this book on a bench or wall near the Main Street entrance to Rotary Common at around 4:30 or so; hope the finder enjoys it!

*** Released for the 2014 Spook-tacular Halloween Challenge, for the (partial) monster on the cover. ***