Dial M for mongoose: from the tattered casebook of Chet Gecko private eye

chet Gecko’s Investigations Often Show Him The Seamy Underbelly Of School Life, But This Case Throws Him For A Loop. A Deadly Stink Bomb Is Unleashed, A School Building Falls To Rubble, Money Goes Missing From The Principal’s Office, And That’s Just A Start. Chet’s Endurance For Trouble Is Tested, But So Is His Loyalty: Someone Is Trying To Get His Mongoose Janitor Pal Maureen Debree Fired. A True-blue P.i. Doesn’t Take That Kind Of Monkey Business Lying Down. Standing Up, Maybe. and Stand Up He Will—to Some Very Shifty School Bullies. Chet Keeps Digging For The Truth Like A Mole After An Earthworm Sandwich. Oh, Foolish Detective. children's Literature the Latest In The Chet Gecko Series, This Title Features Fourth Grade Detective, Chet Gecko, And His Mockingbird Sidekick, Nattily Attired. They Go On The Case When Their Friend, The Janitor (a Mongoose), Gets Blamed For All The Trouble The School Is Suddenly Experiencing: Stink Bombs, Stolen Food, Fires, Collapsing Buildings, And Missing Students. Wittily (and Cleverly) Told In A Parody Of A Forties Detective Novel, This Book Has More Similes And Metaphors Than An Overcrowded Classroom Crammed With Students. Puns, And Smart Aleck, Faux Noir Dialogue Abound. Chet Gecko And Natalie Narrowly Avoid Extinction As They Snoop Into Places Where They Are Not Wanted And Even The Principal, A Cat Named Mr. Zero, Tells Them To Lay Off. The Mongoose, Speaks Pidgin, Which Seems Natural Considering That Many Mongooses Live In Hawaii; But The Story Seems To Be Firmly Placed On The Mainland. The School Is Overwhelmingly Multi-cultural; Students Rang From Weasels To Tree Frogs. It Is Entertaining Reading And Should Keep Its Targeted Readers Captivated. Reviewer: Myrna Dee Marler In this fifteenth book in the series, Chet finally gets a case that throws him for a loop. People he thinks are the salt of the earth turn out to be the scum of the pond. And lowdown punks turn out to be nice guys. Then there's a deadly, school-wide stink bomb and a classroom fire that almost spells the end for Chet. It's enough to make a gecko give up detecting and turn to knitting doilies. But he toughs it out. And why? Loyalty. Someone's trying to put his mongoose janitor pal Maureen DeBree on ice. A true-blue P.I. doesn't take that kind of monkey business lying down. Oh, no, Chet Gecko keeps digging for truth like a mole after an earthworm sandwich. When you want your floors waxed, dial "M" for mongoose. When you want danger, deception, and trouble galore, dial "G" for Gecko Fourth-grade detective Chet Gecko and his associate Natalie Attired investigate a series of mishaps that all seem to point to the school janitor.