Trouble Is My Beeswax: A Chet Gecko Mystery
Poor Mr. Ratnose; people are cheating on his history test. Poor Shirley Chameleon; when a cheat sheet turns up beside her desk, she becomes the prime suspect.
This is a case for Chet Gecko, resident gumshoe of Emerson Hicky Elementary, and his mockingbird sidekick Natalie Attired. The only way to clear Shirley is to find the real cheating ring, but they don't want to be caught. It seems the only one who will talk to Chet is a nameless informant who sends him clues via the school's computer lab. Where do the watches Johnny Ringo is selling come in? Chet and Natalie risk getting "blooped" by Ringo's goons for asking too many questions. Worse is yet to come, as the trail to the truth leads to a final confrontation in Principal Zero's office, where the spanking machine casts a long shadow.
This book reads like a television cartoon, with its implausible premise, its instantly recognisable stock characters and situations, and willingness to stop anytime, anywhere, to go for a gag-line. This is probably what endears it to many of its readers, who have grown up watching TV. If Chet Gecko ever does get his own TV show, I wish him well.
Bruce Hale is a very funny writer. With Chet Gecko as his hard-boiled detective narrator, he delivers a stream of smart one-liners and similes stretched silly. The wise cracks crack, and the puns keep on punning. Who could resist a book with characters called Noah Vail, Kitten Caboodle, and Jackdaw Ripper? Fans of Chet Gecko and his pals can rest easy with this title. Bruce Hale has done it again.
