UNICORN DETECTIVE 1

Senior Detective Spark Bubblewand gets along with a little help from his friends.

Today’s suspect at the Mythical Bureau of Investigation is a fairy, photographed in the People Place (the realm of humans) without a disguise or paperwork. Spark and his rookie partner, Squatch (a hulking but naïve sasquatch), confront her with the evidence and sentence her to a year in the Pony Pasture. Squatch wonders if the punishment is too harsh, but the pair must move on to their next case: A mermaid’s purse was stolen. The mermaid, Coral, turns out to be a member of the Sea-cret Guard, protecting the ocean’s treasures: in this case, Blackbeard’s map. Soon the fairy reveals that she, too, is a Guardian and joins Spark and Squatch in their investigation. A pair of mice—Hickory and Dickory Dock—keep trailing them, raising suspicions early on. And then Cora is mer-napped! Baines’ beat is typically nonfiction, and appended notes on real mermaid purses, mermaid myths, mice, Blackbeard, and more, along with a character guide, show her sure hand. Spark’s vanity and silly swears (“Fluffy frog fingers!”) and Squatch’s earnest misunderstandings add amusement. Marks’ goofy line drawings enliven every page. The mash-up of fantastical elements and hardboiled detective story will garner plenty of fans for this series opener.

Magic and laughs fuel an engaging and goofy mystery.