The cryptid keeper

In the second volume of a series (The Cryptid Catcher, 2018) that was announced as a duology but shows every sign of keeping on, teen cryptid conservator Clivo Wren is assaulted by a froglike Vodyanoy (aka the Ugly Merman ), stabbed by a venomous Elwentritsch (or chicken monster), slugged by a human rival, gassed by a cat/snake Tatzelwurm, and forced to suffer other indignities while searching for a cryptid that carries the secret of immortality. Worse yet, he discovers that he's been tricked into working for bad guys (evocatively, if somewhat nonsensically, dubbed the evil resistance ) out to capture, kill, or weaponize the elusive creatures. Fisher packs her tongue-in-cheek tale with real (or, OK, real ) creatures of myth and legend and slips in pop-culture references and Easter eggs (catch that Indiana Jones reference). Except for what's visited on Clivo, there is virtually no explicit violence in the tale; the author even leaves all of the evil resistance not only alive but still at large, and so presumably poised to embark on new schemes in future episodes.--John Peters Copyright 2019 Booklist

Clivo Wren and the Myth Blasters continue their search for an immortal cryptid following series opener The Cryptid Catcher (2018).When Clivo's father was killed by a rival cryptid hunter, the 13-year-old took up the search, bankrolled by curmudgeonly and mysterious Douglas Chancery. First Russia's Vodyanoy turns out not to be immortalthen Egypt's Salawa. When the Blasters discover that the cryptids Clivo has tested have disappeared, they use the satellite at the SETI-like institute where Clivo's best friend's dad works to find the missing mythological beasts. It appears that someone has gathered them together, but why? Can the Myth Blasters rescue the captive cryptids and find the immortal one before the baddies do? Fisher's concluding volume in her duology is very similar to the first. The bad guy's a bit obvious, though the degree of his badness is a nice surprise. The freedom enjoyed by the young characters (his pals' parents think they are attending a math and science camp held in Clivo's secluded Colorado home, where he lives with salsa-dancing Aunt Pearl) is a bit unbelievable, but their jokes will land for the target audience. Clivo is white, and his friends cover the racial spectrum.Fans of the first will enjoy; readers new to the series should go back to Volume 1 before moving on to this. (Fantasy. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.