55. Cirque du Freak - Tunnels of Blood

Book 55: Cirque du Freak - Tunnels of Blood by Darren Shan (B-)

Sadly, this novel wasn't anywhere near as good as the first two. Darren, Mr. Crepsley, and Evra leave the Cirque after an old friend from Mr. Crepsley's past shows up. The trio arrive in a small town and stay at a hotel where the boys joke around and enjoy the wonder of television while Mr. Crepsley goes out at night and says nothing to no one. His secrets become scary when six murdered bodies are discovered in a warehouse near the outskirts of town. Evra and Darren think Mr. Crepsley has gone on a bloodlust killing spree and needs to be staked! They follow him one night and discover a whole new kind of freak!

Mr. Crepsley

While this may sound exciting, I found the novel dragged. I really enjoyed the Cirque life and wanted to explore more of it. There was a significant lack in the number of supporting characters, and it seemed that Shan grew bored writing only of the three. He set himself up for dragging moments with only Darren and Evra around to entertain themselves throughout the day and the night. While Darren scores a girlfriend, the introduction of Debbie only complicates matters because it causes paragraph after paragraph of Darren's inner monologue of worrying Debbie will find out the truth about Mr. Crepsley. And who has no reaction whatsoever to a boy with green scales for skin?? Who does that? Apparently, Debbie does.
Evra's character development was wonderful. Reading about the growing bond between the two boys was enjoyable and sweet. I hope Evra takes on a larger role in the later novels.
Overall, I was just not pleased with this third book. There was some suspense in the end, but it was easy to predict the outcome. I still believe number 2 was the best yet!