Title: Tangled Tales: Undercover Overlord and Meddling Underlings

Written by: Lou Treleaven

Illustrated by: Mario Gushiken

Published by: Maverick Publishing

I love this concept of the Tangled Tales series, which has two book in one from Maverick Publishing. They are perfect for the emergent reader who has just started to read more independently but is unable to sustain a full novel. Each has a spooky theme to capture children’s imaginations split into eight easy to digest chapters. The stories are: Undercover Overlord and Meddling Underling. Both are creatively written by Lou Treleaven and beautifully illustrated by Mario Gushiken.

Tangled Tales is a new range of fiction aimed for 7-9 year olds. As mentioned each book is composed of two stories but one follows the ‘hero’ and the other follows the ‘monster’ or ‘villain’. The reader can flip the book to choose which story to start with, but they can be read in either order.

In Undercover Overlord, Otis Vile is set to take over his dastardly grandmother’s even more dastardly galactic corporation, E.V.I.L. (Extremely Vile Industries Limited). Only first he must go undercover in their factories to root out anyone ‘nice’ once and for all. Along the way Otis discovers the mysterious Number 2 has dastardly plans of their own.

In Meddling Underling, Plib and her family have spent years battling E.V.I.L. (Extremely Vile Industries Limited) but now their home is threatened. To save them, Plib will have to work for the enemy. I enjoyed following Plib’s hilarious escapades as she tries to change E.V.I.L. from the inside.

These stories are a great addition to the Tangled Tales series. Perfect for reading at Halloween and if you want to laugh out loud.

You can buy copies of Undercover Overlord and Meddling Underlings by Lou Treleaven and Mario Gushiken from your local bookshop, or online at uk.bookshop.org which supports local, independent bookshops.

You can read my interview with Lou Treleaven about the nitty gritty of being a children’s book writer here: An Interview with… Lou Treleaven.