Wille: Revenge on Miss Halitosis

During a bank robbery, Wille’s father tries to stop the criminal Miss Halitosis, but with her poisonous breath she melts him without a second thought. Wille is left orphaned, with only his books to comfort him. In his new foster family, the three sons make his life a misery, but that’s nothing compared to what Miss Halitosis is planning for him. Fortunately he meets Imogen, who gives as good as she gets and has the gift of being able to heap misfortune on others. In her double-decker bus full of books, Wille gradually recovers, and along with Professor De Boneir they work out a plan to thwart the seemingly unstoppable Miss Halitosis.

In his first book, Van Gas shows what he has to offer. In sparkling prose and with a great sense of absurdist humour, he tumbles Wille out of each adventure into the next. In the combination of action, humour and violence, echoes of Anthony Horowitz’s early work are never far away. At the same time, a sensitive undercurrent shows us Wille’s fear, sorrow and trauma, and the way in which, with the help of Imogen and the professor, he learns to deal with them. He evolves from a timid boy into a person who will never be anybody’s walkover.