The Maltese Mummy

May 1, 2011

Gr 4-8-If Rob Reger's Emily the Strange accessorized, swept her bangs to the side, and got an extra-strength dose of perkiness, she would be very much like Megan Yamamura, one of the partners in the Chicagoland Detective Agency. Megan's adventures with Raf and his talking dog, Bradley, continue in this installment when a teen rock idol has a suspicious connection to a mummy at the museum's ancient Egyptian exhibition. While the characters are in high school and the black-and-white artwork at first glance seems to lean toward edgier fare, the Goth look is actually cheerful and supports the juvenile humor quite well. Examples of tween-centric touches include Bradley collapsing a dinosaur skeleton because he cannot resist a bone, riffs on Humphrey Bogart-inspired film noir, obvious red herrings, and an easily recognizable villain from the previous book. Those who want plots that are more Scooby Doo than Nancy Drew will enjoy this silly romp of a mystery.-Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2011

The Chicagoland Detective Agency returns with another pseudoscientific, near-mystery graphic adventure. Self-absorbed but enthusiastic poet-cum-detective Megan has won tickets to a press conference held by goth-rocker Sun D'Arc; she's written hundreds of haiku dedicated to him and his dark, dreamy, depressing dirges. She asks Raf, self-described boy genius, to go with her, but he gets the flu. Since Bradley, their other partner, is an experimentally enhanced dog, Megan takes Raf's friend William. When Sun and his oddly familiar manager express interest in William and Megan catches Egyptian exchange student Jazmin lurking about the concert hall, she realizes something odd is definitely going on...then William disappears! Does this have anything to do with the mummy exhibit at the museum? Can the CDA solve the case in time to save their friend? Robbins' sophomore preteen detective effort (The Drained Brains Caper, 2010) is a tale that's light on mystery but makes up for it with age-appropriate edgy, sarcastic humor and pop-culture jibes. Page's black-and-white cartoon panels are full of pulpy action and visually exciting cinematography and include several "screen shots" from MyBlogFace. Readers of book one will spot the villain long before the heroes do, making them feel extra smart. Good graphic fun. (Graphic mystery. 7-12)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 15, 2011
Grades 4-7 In this second volume in the Chicagoland Detective Agency graphic-novel series, teen sleuths Megan and Raf and their talking-dog partner, Bradley, get caught up in two seemingly unrelated happenings: the arrival of a rock idol and the disappearance of a mummy from the Art Institute. The story is a bit light on the detective front (the investigating primarily consists of always being where the villains are concocting their nefarious plans) but heavy on goofy-edged action and manga-inflected artwork. Another good-natured adventure with a few nods to classic detective stories.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)