DEAD GOOD DETECTIVES

Young amateur cartographer Sid Jones accidentally releases a centuries-old pirate ghost from the cemetery in her English seaside town of Fathom.

Sid can see and hear the boisterous pirate Capt. Ezekiel “Bones” Kittow and his impish macaw, Elizabeth—but no one else can, not even her best friend, a boy named Zennor Moyo. After an understandable period of disbelief and frustration, Sid teams up with Bones to solve the mystery of his missing treasure so that he and his crew can escape their ghostly limbo and pass on. Though Sid draws Zen into the historical puzzle of Bones’ pirate booty, she’s been growing self-conscious about hanging out with her proudly oddball friend and drawing more attention from their classmates; she’s already been called weird, after all, and having a ghost as a constant companion, even a secret one, doesn’t help. The overall tone is one of whimsy more than menace. McLachlan infuses both the supernatural adventure and Sid’s emotional evolution with a charming earnestness, especially as Sid grows bolder and more comfortable with her magical talents. Stylized black-and-white illustrations depict Sid as a white waif with large, round glasses and Zen as an energetic Black boy with short twists; Bones receives a loving visual treatment that includes voluminous hair, a tricorn hat, and a beard entangled with seaweed.

A series opener—big on heart and short on horror—that offers fun ghostly escapades.