Eleven-year-old Philip Noble has a big problem. His dad has appeared to him as a member of the Dead Fathers Club, a club for "ghost dads" whose murders are unavenged. His father's road accident, it turns out, was no accident at all.
Uncle Alan is responsible for his dad's death, and if Philip doesn't succeed in killing his uncle before his dad's birthday, just ten weeks away, his dad's spirit will never rest.
So begins Philip's quest to avenge his dad and to save his mum from the greasy clutches of Uncle Alan, who seems intent on taking his dad's place in their lives. But Philip finds himself both uneasy of his mission and distrustful of the ghost that claims to be his father. Plus, he's distracted by Leah Polonius, the gorgeous daughter of Uncle Alan's Bible-bashing business partner. What's a young lad to do?
The Dead Fathers Club gives more than a nod towards Hamlet. Hilarious and unpredictable, The Dead Father's Club is full of poignant insights into the strange workings of the world as seen through the eyes of a child.
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"My friend who runs ChicksDigBooks.com told me that this book was awesome and also had ghosts in it like my novel. And it did! And the thing about the ghosts here is that they are tricky. Right now the ghost in my novel is very earnest....but what if the ghost was tricky? That would be interesting...."
— Miriam (5 out of 5 stars)
" I would give this book a 3.5. It's well written and an engaging story line. It seems kind of M. Night though - in a 6th Sense kind of way. "
— Supriya, 2/18/2014" The premise of the novel is inspired by Hamlet: a kid is visited by the ghost of his recently deceased father, who reveals he was actually murdered by his brother. The novel is written in first person, from the point of view of an 11-year-old with a striking propensity for similes. "
— Giuliana, 2/15/2014" This is a wonderful, quick read. It is written by the 11 year old boy who sees and talks to his father's ghost. As written on the book cover,it is an updated Hamlet story. The author is spot on as an 11 year old writing about the experiences he is going thru. Is he really interacting with his Dad's ghost or is he imagining the encounters because he can't deal with his feelings any other way. Either way, you can't help but feel that this kid needs someone in his life to just give him a hug and really listen. "
— Janet, 2/11/2014" This was an interesting story. It was cute. It was kind of predictable though "
— Lianne, 2/10/2014" I loved the whole book except the ending, it just left me hanging there! "
— Nouf, 2/6/2014" OK, I can see what he was trying to do. But simply omitting punctuation and adding some bizarre CAPITALISATION does not a stream-of-consciousness masterpiece make. I could forgive it if it was aimed at children but I'm assuming, due to the language, it's not (unless the C-word is now part of the curriculum?). A decent enough story (well, it is lifted straight from Shakespeare) but there was just something disingenuous about the style that prevented me from becoming wholly engaged. "
— Karen, 1/23/2014" Interesting read, but HATED the ending! Total Hamlet ripoff but without the resolution. "
— Barb, 1/19/2014" Again, cover caught my eye. This was sort of a sad story. I do not want to ruin it at all, but the boys father dies, and his ghost cant go to hell or heaven untill his murderer is caught. so he uses his son to get the person that killed him. the kid just couldnt let him go at the end. "
— Bradley, 1/19/2014" modern day Hamlet story told from the point of view of an 11 year old English boy in a fast first person. engaging, quick read with some surprises. "
— Tony, 1/3/2014" What the hell kind of ending is that? But, I kinda liked it. The Hamlet references were interesting but not too annoying, and the style was a la Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. It took a little while to get used to, but then sounded definitely 11-year-old. "
— Erin, 12/1/2013" Picked this up in London. A good take on Hamlet. "
— Brian, 11/24/2013" Really tried to love this. Very clever modern day Hamlet. But just never connected with it. "
— Kelly, 10/24/2013" The lack of punctuation really bothered me through the whole book. Other than that, it was an interesting story. The ending was a bit abrupt and didn't tie up loose ends. "
— James, 10/6/2013" i loved this book matt haige never lets me down with his witty chapters & lovable charecters. he has a great way of being able to see the world from a childs eyes & express them in this fantastic book about loss love revenge fear friendship & family. "
— Chi, 9/25/2013" My first Matt Haig book, I really liked his pop culture references that the boy drew while going through everything. This was an extremely quick and fun read, I loved the dialogue. "
— Anthony, 9/24/2013" Charming in ways. A unexpected ending, but considering this is a take of from Hamlet, but in a young person's gook, a good turn. "
— Jennifer, 6/3/2013" I really liked this book. It is written in the voice of an eleven year old boy. This works well for me because that also happens to be my reading level. "
— Justin, 4/23/2013" A modern take on Hamlet. If you can, get the audio book. The boy who reads it is an absolute delight. Although the similarities to Hamlet are pretty strained in a number of places, it's still a very book. "
— Nancy, 3/16/2013" A strange and quirky book. Reminded me a lot of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. "
— Allie, 10/15/2012" Very funny. Often in a guilty-pleasure way. "
— Carl, 6/5/2012" The story was good until the end which made the book "just okay". "
— Eva, 5/20/2012" From an adaptation standpoint, this book is remarkable. Taking the plot of Hamlet and changing the setting to the modern day really lets you view Shakespeare's work in a different light. I enjoyed this book and found it fascinating. Highly recommended. "
— Bryce, 2/4/2012" Jordan Crane should design ALL book covers. Just look at how HIDEOUS the non-Jordan Crane cover is for this book. What was Penguin thinking? "
— Abby, 9/22/2011" Just finished this book. I actually really recommend it. Easy afternoon read, a modern versionn of Hamlet told from the perspective of an 11 year old English boy. It was odd in an endearing way. "
— Jody, 7/21/2011" An entertaining read with an interesting narrative viewpoint and style. The gimmick of the 11-year-old's voice/writing style gets a little distracting at times, but overall it is effective and makes for a much different experience of the story than a traditional narration would have. "
— Maya, 5/16/2011" An entertaining read with an interesting narrative viewpoint and style. The gimmick of the 11-year-old's voice/writing style gets a little distracting at times, but overall it is effective and makes for a much different experience of the story than a traditional narration would have. "
— Maya, 3/27/2011" Started this, and it was okay but not as good as The Radleys and I ended up stopping. "
— Scott, 3/19/2011" Charming in ways. A unexpected ending, but considering this is a take of from Hamlet, but in a young person's gook, a good turn. "
— Jennifer, 2/14/2011" I liked this book very much. Having lost a parent when I was young I could identify with many of Phillip's feelings.<br/>When/if this ever gets made into a movie I'd like that kid from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the role of Phillip. "
— Khristina, 1/25/2011" Again, cover caught my eye. This was sort of a sad story. I do not want to ruin it at all, but the boys father dies, and his ghost cant go to hell or heaven untill his murderer is caught. so he uses his son to get the person that killed him. the kid just couldnt let him go at the end. "
— Bradley, 12/29/2010" ... due stelle e mezzo perchè la trama mi è piaciuta abbastanza, ma lo stile di scrittura infantile e la punteggiatura ridotta al minimo non mi hanno entusiasmata.<br/>Un libro che non mi ha fatto una grande impressione tutto sommato. "
— monica, 11/18/2010" The story was good until the end which made the book "just okay". "
— Eva, 10/26/2010" not terrible, I just stopped half way through when I stopped running. books on cd don't hold much delight for me outside a run. "
— Alternate, 8/11/2010" Good writing, weird ending. "
— Smoore2, 7/8/2010Matt Haig writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults, including four series, eleven stand-alone novels, novellas, short stories, and a memoir. His Shadow Forest, aka Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest, won the 2009 Blue Peter Book Award for Book of the Year.
Andrew Dennis, in addition to cowriting the New York Times bestseller 1634: The Galileo Affair, had a story in Baen’s The Ring of Fire and has had many nonfiction pieces published on the subjects of law and the paranormal. By way of a day job, Dennis a lawyer and lives in Preston, England, with his wife and children.