Daniel Plainway or The Holiday Haunting of the Moosepath League by Van Reid was given to me by Peggy when she came over to Scotland last year to visit us. I think that Van Reid’s books are quite difficult to get in the UK.

The setting is 19th century Maine where the members of The Moosepath League become involved in the search for a young boy which leads them into all sorts of daft adventures.

I haven’t read Dickens’ Pickwick Papers but apparently this series is an homage to Mr Pickwick and company.

My favourite character was the ancient army colonel who is given a new lease of life when he becomes involved in the planning of a snowball fight, making good use of his military knowledge of tactics. You see what I mean by daft!

I wasn’t too sure about this book to begin with but it grew on me. It’s a good blend of silliness combined with lots of likeable and quirky characters. I believe this is the third book in a series though so I’ll be looking out for the first two books.

The author Van Reid is also the manager of a Maine bookshop, his family has lived in that state since the 18th century and he bases his stories around actual places which will be recognisable to people who know the areas.

Some fans of his books apparently travel around visiting the places the members of The Moosepath League frequent. It sounds similar to all those people who visit Edinburgh and go to all the places mentioned in Alexander McCall-Smith’s Scotland Street series. It is nice to be able to imagine the places in books exactly as they are in reality, so I can see why people do it.