DESMOND, DOG DETECTIVE

Having won the admiration of the entire town in Desmond's First Case (see 1961, p. 55 J-27) Gus and his remarkable pooch return to the scene in another rollicking adventure. Summer vacation seems an ideal time for Desmond and his canine age to declare a ""Be Kind to Humans Month"", but since each dog is paired off with a boy, the campaign must be organized on an individual basis. As usual, the mutual empathy between Gus and Desmond involves the boy in the campaign too and the object of their concern is the ""Lone Stranger"", an openly hostile character whom they see outside the snazzy new supermarket. In their effort to ""help"" the man, they wind up trapping him, much to the benefit of the whole community. Through Desmond's perceptiveness, a slick plan to rob the supermarket is exposed. The plot is exciting enough but the irrelevant incidentals create most of the fun -- Desmond's discovery of the magic-eye door in the supermarket, Gus' treehouse elevator designed to bring Desmond aloft and above all the puzzling enigma of adult behavior from a dog's viewpoint. Why, for instance, did everyone in town throw a tantrum when Desmond and his friends took advantage of the sign that read ""One Hour Free Barking"". This is strictly for fun -- a brighter and wittier book than the first.