FREDDY AND THE DRAGON

Another Freddy book. This time the remarkable Pig tracks down a ruthless protection racket using as his device a mechanical rabbit which badly frightens the culprit. In the process of his sleuthing he also manages to teach a contrite bull how to behave like a gentleman and to endear himself both to his animal and human neighbors. To be published posthumously, this Freddy episode is in the style of the several dozen which precede it -- sometimes funny, often slangy, and caught in a balance between parody and two-gunned adventure -- a balance that over the years has had a consistent appeal.