Dash and his best friend Lily are on the way to a summer holiday at Black Sand Beach with his dad and stepmum.

It is only moments after they arrive at the ramshackle ‘dad-built’ cabin on poles, that the peace is shattered with an unearthly scream and appearance of a crazy woman on the back of a wild, green sheep called Ramsays. What makes it worse is that the wild woman is Dash’s Aunt Lynne – a strong, wiry, toothless crackerjack excited to see her brother.

Also staying is Dash’s younger cousin Andy, elder cousin Eleanor and his very quiet, weird and grey Uncle Frederick. Dash is embarrassed but Lily thinks the cabin is awesome. It’s not long before the kids are exploring and in a nearby lighthouse, things begin to get even stranger.

Dash hears someone or something calling his name. He discovers unearthly creatures in the lighthouse beam which seems to turn itself on at random. On further investigation Dash is confronted by even worse and the confusion of muddled memories about when he was last at the lighthouse.

Embarrassing relatives, hearing voices, confusing clues and grasping ghosts aren’t the only challenges. Lily is soon faced with some of her own after everyone but her eat the strange vegetables left by the neighbours. What is going on at Black Sand Beach?

The first in a new graphic novel series by this Kiwi born Graphic Novelist and Picture Book Author, I am keen to continue to find out what’s coming next. Ghosts, mystery, strange creatures and weird relatives set up an intriguing story to pursue.

The setting is based on the author’s own summer holidays and experiences in a family-built ricketty shack near a haunted lighthouse. The artwork is full colour and in the rear of the book is a rough guide for keen comic artists how it has been produced. I enjoyed the easy flow illustration style and the multiple strands of plot leading to exciting and spooky possibilities…

Author / Illustrator – Richard Fairgray

Age – 9+

Quick Read

Dash and his best friend Lily go to Dash’s family-built cabin on poles at Black Sand Beach. They soon discover spooky things in the local lighthouse, and Dash is faced with confusing clues about his past and his connection with the creepy creatures surrounding them.

(Ghosts, Holiday, Summer, Creepy, Beach, Relatives, Family, Creatures, Weird neighbours, Diary, Muddled Memories, Friend, Cousins, Mad Aunt, Spooky, Memory)