First published 1997
Six children have vanished from the farmyard, and Detective Hubert Hound arrives to solve the case. Working alongside his assistant Reg, Hubert begins questioning the remaining animals. He interviews Tim Cat, Hilda Rabbit, Badger, Foxy, and Owl, gathering clues and taking careful notes. The evidence seems to point directly at Foxy as the culprit. But just when the case appears solved, another murder occurs, throwing everything into doubt. Hubert must reconsider all his assumptions and examine the evidence more carefully. Through speech bubble conversations and pages from the detective's own notebook, young readers can follow along with the investigation. They can study the same clues Hubert collects and try to solve the mystery themselves. Jonathan Allen creates a world where animals wear clothes and solve crimes, turning a serious detective story into something delightfully absurd. The farmyard setting becomes a crime scene where nothing is quite as it seems.
Genres: fiction, animals, mystery, crime, detective
Vibes: absurd, delightful, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, found-family
Setting: Farmyard
40 pages · Paperback · Orion Children's Books (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )