A CASE WITH A BANG

There are scoundrels on the loose in Chief Detective Buffy’s police district!

Former Detective Gordon (a toad) has passed on his title to his former assistant Buffy (a mouse). When forest resident Badger hears “brumbling and scrorching” in the night and goes out to find his trash can destroyed, Detective Buffy is on the case. Meanwhile, Gordon, who still lives at the police headquarters with Buffy, is looking after a young squirrel named Helmer who wants to join the police when he grows up. While investigating, Buffy is injured. Gordon and the other forest animals rescue her, and everyone stays at police headquarters for the night…but little Helmer goes investigating on his own and makes a surprising friend. Beloved, award-winning Swedish author Nilsson passed away in 2021, making this (likely) the final adventure for Detective Buffy and former Detective Gordon. A little more fantastical than its four predecessors, this volume is just as charming, gentle, wry, and entertaining as the rest of the series and anything that was created by A.A. Milne or Kenneth Grahame. Spee’s squiggly colored-pencil drawings again bring everything to life.

Sadly the last but a fine addition to a fine series.