HARVEY'S MARVELOUS MONKEY MYSTERY

Harvey's cousin Nora visits once again, and again adventure follows in her wake. The monkey which climbs through Harvey's window late one night has remark. able abilities: it hands him his clothing, wakes Nora up with a wet washcloth in the face, and pours and presents a glass of milk as the stunned Willson family looks on. Events take a sinister turn when wounds are discovered on the animal, and Harvey) sees a prowler in the yard. Having introduced these suspenseful elements, Clifford diverts the story into a lighter channel': the prowler is a bumbling animal-thief whose two attempts to break into the house are used as opportunities for slapstick. From the monkey's behavior and other clues, its owner--a paraplegic for whom it has been trained as a companion--is quickly located. The last chapter is a story in itself; the owner turns out to be a cheerful, lively young women whose handicaps hardly slow her down. Readers will be intrigued when she demonstrates the ingenious ways she has learned to cope. Introducing such a dynamic character so close to the end unbalances the book, but readers who enjoyed the wild comedy of Harvey's Horrible Snake Disaster (1984) will find more of the same here, and a few chills besides.