Creature of the Night By Kate Thompson October 31, 2009

The instant Bobby sees the abandoned Skoda(car) in the driveway, he starts formulating a plan. It was his ma’s decision, not his, to leave Dublin; away from his friends that maybe aren’t the best influence, away from ma’s own set of problems.  Well, she may have moved them down to Ennis, but he would get back to Dublin. In Dublin, there’s his cousin Fluke, Psycho Mick, and Beetle; his gang. They steal cars and wallets, and use the proceeds to get high.

It’s too quiet out in the country, and there’s nothing to do. There’s always something to do in Dublin; a car ‘to borrow’ and take for a ride, something, anything.  PJ Dooley, the man who owns the cottage they’re renting seems decent enough, if not a little bit too trusting.

His mother, Mrs. Dooley pays them a welcoming visit. Along with the eggs, she brings the story of the only child to have lived in their cottage, a little girl; a little girl who was never allowed outdoors, and was never seen by anyone except her parents and a nurse. This is the same child, whose cries would wake Mrs. Dooley and cut her to the bone with the pain in them.  To make the visit stranger still, as she leaves, Mrs. Dooley tells them to be sure to put out the little green bowl full of milk each night for the fairies. To city folk like Bobby and his mum, this seems ridiculous, but his little brother Dennis is happy to play along.

The idyllic country scene is shaken like an Etch a Sketch when Bobby steals the Skoda and high tails it back to Dublin. Things don’t go as planned. Bobby ends up being hauled into a police station after Mick crashes the car. Smooth talking and a bit of finger pointing get him off the hook, and a ride back to Ennis. This is where things change.

Lars, the Skoda’s owner may have mysteriously disappeared, but he’s not forgotten. PJ Dooley is determined to have Bobby work off the value of the car, in order that he should be able to send it  to Lars’s mother.

Remember the bowl of milk to be left out for the fairies? Dennis, Bobby’s little brother does. Bobby is woken up night after night by the sound of Dennis down in the kitchen, chattering away to someone. Dennis says he’s talking to the little woman.

As the story progresses two things are clear: hard work is good for Bobby, and there’s a mysterious force at work. As you turn the pages, you can feel it tightening around your chest. Something is going to give; the picturesque scene can’t and won’t stay as is. Will it be Psycho Mick, the creditors, or someone else from their past in Dublin? Maybe the girl who lived in their house; Bobby heard a disturbing story about her. Or what about that ‘little woman’ Dennis is always going on about?

Short chapters make this book fly by. Bobby isn’t always the most upstanding citizen, but you can’t help liking him. His voice rings true. You find yourself desperate to find out what or who is the creature of the night.

(Bridget, The Loft)