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RAINING CATS AND DETECTIVES by Colleen AF Venable

RAINING CATS AND DETECTIVES

From the Guinea PIG, Pet Shop Private Eye series, volume 5

by Colleen AF Venable illustrated by Stephanie Yue

Pub Date: Oct. 1st, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7613-8541-7
Publisher: Graphic Universe

Detective Sasspants returns! But this time, she has competition.

Guinea pig Sasspants, her faithful, exuberantly enthusiastic sidekick, Hamisher the hamster, and all the denizens of Mr. Venezi’s Pets & Stuff are still in the store. Despite assistant salesperson Viola’s best efforts, Mr. Venezi still can’t get the correct species names on the animals’ cages. All the animals are friends, so most are content to stay in the shop. Then (human) Detective Pickles arrives and adopts Sasspants, so when Tummytickles, the bookstore cat next door, vanishes, there’s no one to find him. Suddenly, everyone from the goldfish (all named Steve) to the snooty chinchillas are donning detective hats and…well, calling themselves detectives. Will Sasspants return to save the day, or can Hamisher detect on his own? Venables’s fifth Pet Shop Private Eye graphic adventure for the chapter-book crowd is as sly, sarcastic and silly as its predecessors. Yue’s expressive, dot-eyed creatures in bright hues and cinematic panels are still perfect at bringing the tales to life and adding an extra dimension of character and humor. Readers of the previous four titles will get a few more laughs than those new to the series, but this can stand alone.

Sass and Hamisher hint that they may be getting out of the detecting business given the end…let’s hope NOT! (Graphic mystery. 7-11)