The fact that Marmaduke had blue eyes and red hair turn out to be diabolically helpful to Willie's investigation. Blue-eyed, redheaded babies had a way of turning up unexpectedly in Templeton, which makes Marmaduke a contender for not only multiple paternity but also for a place in this novel's title.
Templeton turns out to have had more than its share of two-legged monsters, once Willie begins putting together her evidence. In a family tree that branches out to include slaves, American Indians (Fenimore Cooper's Chingachgook, the Mohican chief, and his son Uncas) and maybe even the pack of guys who go on shared morning runs and wave fondly at Willie, there are more than a few miscreants along the way.
The high point of Groff's mock research is a packet of secret letters, marked "Contents disturbing and painful," written between two genteel-sounding women. The letters begin politely, but quickly and artfully descend into darkness. Once their secrets come to light, let's just say that Templeton's head count would have been higher with neither of these women around.
Plot twists like that one are certainly intriguing enough to captivate readers. The trouble with The Monsters of Templeton is that its complications seem nonstop. Does the town really need a monster and ghosts and eerie Temple family portraits? ("You rapscallion," Willie says endearingly to one of them. "I think we know your little secret, my old friend.")
How many illegitimate pregnancies can one book follow? Even the monster turns out to have been ready to procreate - though at least no red hair or blue eyes are genetic factors. How many old Templeton boyfriends can Willie reactivate once she gets to town? How many subplots, like an out-of-town best friend suffering from lupus, can accumulate to no dramatic effect, out of thin air?
Groff's inexperience shows in this overcrowding, as it does in overly mellifluous turns of phrase ("the deer darting startled through the dark"). And she tries out more voices and documents than she can comfortably create. But it speaks well for her narrative talents that Willie Upton, disarming and smart, holds even more interest than the elaborate events that surround her.
The Monsters of Templeton is given a great graphic boost by ingenious illustrations that seem to authenticate the characters: old photographs from Groff's collection, as well as a computer-generated monster she created using Photoshop. This book's handsome, vaguely sinister family-tree visual design also heightens the impact of Templeton-style hospitality.
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