Mina Mistry Investigates: The Case of the Disappearing Pets

Angie Lake is a freelance writer with a background in the Spanish music industry. Born in the UK and raised on the Spanish Costa Blanca, Angie travelled extensively. She studied Psychology in Barcelona and began her writing career in the Spanish national music press. Angie also writes novels and children’s fiction.

Gr 2-4-Mina Mistry, schoolgirl detective, is on the prowl for her classmates' missing pets. Her friend's hamster goes missing, then the pets of some other classmates disappear, and finally Mina discovers that the local pet store has been trashed. Could this be the work of irate animal activists protesting a new make up store opening in town? Or could it be the makeup company stealing pets to test their products on? Mina and her friends will get to the bottom of it - even if that means sneaking into a sewer at four in the morning. Delightful, exaggerated, comic-style illustrations further the story. The language is mostly simple, with the occasional tough vocabulary word thrown in, and the humour is wacky and over the top. There are also subtle learning moments thrown in.VERDICT This will be enjoyed by fans of Anh Do's WeirdDo and those who appreciated the "Dork Diaries" and "Big Nate" series.