When Mr S and I had not been long together - long before I saw the light and became a dog person – I had pet rats. Both of them were an absolute delight – inquisitive, clean (yes, really) and full of mischief, they brought me a great deal of pleasure. For many people though, rats are perceived as vermin and there is something about their long, pink fur-free tails that creeps them out. In this, the fifth and penultimate full-length novel in the series (short read Creepy Creations is out in February in time for World Book Day), that widespread fear of the small rodents is used to the most wonderful effect by Queen of Middle Grade Horror Jennifer Killick, as the members of Club Loser once more find themselves in the deadliest of danger from very familiar enemies. Having narrowly escaped the watery fate intended for them in Book 4, Deadly Deep, the five friends are looking forward to a fun night out to celebrate club member Colette’s 13th birthday. After changing out of their uniforms at school, they excitedly wait for their transport to arrive, driven by the overenthusiastic Mr C, who is accompanied by Colette’s mother. Recovering from their initial disappointment/horror at Mr C’s choice of vehicle, the Club Loser members soon cheer up when they discover that they are not just heading off to the Neon Perch – the coolest venue in Finches Heath – but are being given a kitty to finance the various treats they are to experience – something that has been preying on our narrator Angelo’s mind as his family’s financial position is not as comfortable as the others. Arriving at their destination, the friends excitedly head inside with nothing on their minds except for enjoying themselves to the full, but it soon becomes clear that someone else has very different plans for them. Entering into an escape room experience, things quickly start to go wrong – almost as if someone knows each of their biggest fears and is using these against them. With no way out and no phone signal, Gus, Angelo, Colette, Naira and Hallie attempt to solve the puzzles they face to gain their freedom, but they swiftly discover that they are not alone but are being kept company by not just rats but giant, poisonous rats. Can they work together to escape the nightmare in which they find themselves, or are they destined to wind up as the rodents’ next meal… There are some series of books where you know the characters so well that picking up the next title is something to which you look forward enormously, in the same way that you would anticipate meeting up with your very closest friends. As we have grown to know and love Angelo and the others, they have grown too to the point where not only do they say they are prepared to do anything for one another, they prove it too. Here, that bond of love for one another leads them into the most enormous danger yet and we are left wondering just what will happen in the sixth and final book, where we must surely face the very real possibility of not all the Club Loser members, or those closest to them, making it to the end of the series in one piece. As she has done from the very beginning though, Jennifer Killick packs in some enormous laughs to balance out the darkness (I snort-laughed at one particular joke and am sure that I will not be alone in this) and also some very deep empathy for the day-to-day difficulties the characters face, which are unrelated to the frights but reveal so much more about the friends as they support one another. As I’m sure I’ve said before, nobody crafts characters that are children or young adults as realistically as the author – their interests, hopes, fears and especially their speech are spot on again here, making this all the more believable. Added into this mix are the friends’ wonderfully accurate reactions to the behaviour of the so-uncool-he’s-the-coolest teacher in the entire world, Mr C, who I know I am not alone in loving dearly. If you haven’t as yet read any of the Dread Wood books, I strongly suggest you start with number one. You could probably read this if you’ve read a few of the books which precede it but there are some genius references to previous outings that you need to be up to speed with to enjoy this to the max and the books are so wonderful, you really would be doing yourself a disservice to skip over any of them.