Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones

[meganbmoore]

Howard lives a relatively typical (if seemingly more well-off than he realizes) life with his parents, annoying younger sister, called “Awful,” and the family’s au pair, Fifi. One day, a large, unnamed person who Fifi describes as “somebody’s goon” plants himself in the kitchen, announcing that he’s come to claim “Archer’s two thousand” from Howard’s father. The “two thousand,” it turns out, is two thousand words that Howard’s father writes and turns over to a man named Mountjoy. Somehow, this quarter’s words got lost along the way, and The Goon has been sent to get them, one way or another.

Everyone, it seems, wants the two thousand words, most especially seven powerful and mysterious siblings who somehow supernaturally rule different aspects of the town’s economy. Howard meets, in turn, each of the siblings, and The Goon becomes something of an odd addition to the family, even as the siblings wreak havoc on Howard’s life, trying to force his father to write a new set of words.

This was a bit different from the other DWJ’s I’ve read, and twistier. The twists could be spotted, but not how they’d play out. I was particularly fond of the siblings, and their role in the town. And while I don’t think it was the book’s intention, I can’t help but wish for the future adventures of Awful and The Goon.