Parents need to know that Fletcher is beaten with a club into unconsciousness and hospitalized. Also, the adults in this story are mostly useless, and the most appealing characters are petty criminals.

Families who read this book could discuss the deductive techniques Fletcher uses. How does he figure out who the real culprit is? Were you able to figure it out before he did? Also, what would it be like to be Red. Why do people treat him the way they do. Why do they assume he's up to no good?

What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that Fletcher is beaten with a club into unconsciousness and hospitalized. Also, the adults in this story are mostly useless, and the most appealing characters are petty criminals.

Families who read this book could discuss the deductive techniques Fletcher uses. How does he figure out who the real culprit is? Were you able to figure it out before he did? Also, what would it be like to be Red. Why do people treat him the way they do. Why do they assume he's up to no good?

Common Sense Media Review
In this first of what is obviously intended to be a new series, author Eoin Colfer, author of the bestselling Artemis Fowl series, brings his trademark combination of humor, brilliant kids, gritty violence, and likable villains to a new setting.

Fletcher is interesting enough -- a nerdy wimp of a kid detective with a sharp mind and an inner core of steel, who narrates the story in the style of a 40s potboiler. Much more interesting, though, is his reluctant partner, Red -- son of a local gangster, with a heart of gold, a bad reputation, a short fuse, the gift of cool charisma, and the skills of his heritage.

Some things don't ring true. For example, Fletcher receives an extraordinary lack of sympathy from any adult, including his parents, after he is beaten badly enough to require surgery, which, by the way, was quite a bit more violence than was strictly necessary for the storyline. But, despite a cast and facial reconstruction, Fletcher bounces back into action the next day, so it really doesn't count, right? When a child is beaten unconscious by an adult with a club, somehow it doesn't register as the humorous, cartoon violence the author seems to think it is.

But overall this is quite a romp, with a satisfyingly convoluted plot, a public revelation of the culprit, and lots of the wicked humor the author's fans have come to expect. And with its junior Odd Couple pairing at the center, it should make for an enjoyable series.

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