The Mystery of Mr. Nice

Bruce Hale

Harcourt, 2000
$14.00 hardcover
96 pages

"My office sits up against the fence, behind a clump of bamboo. It's cleverly disguised as a big refrigerator box. On one side, I have a Saran Wrap window with my name on it, just like the big-shot detectives have."

Meet Chet Gecko, private eye, future great artist, and fourth-grade student at Emerson Hicky Elementary. He knows he's stumbled onto something strange when he is sent to Principal Zero's office for drawing pictures in class, and Zero acts nice to him.

Soon Chet and his mockingbird partner Natalie are interviewing everyone new to the school during the past week and searching trash cans and teachers' desks for clues -- anything that might help them solve The Mystery of Mr. Nice. What they find is way bigger than they expect, and if Chet can't stop it, he may have to give up his life of crime-solving for a life of crime!

Score one for Bruce Hale, who brings us Chet Gecko. His fast-talking, fedora-wearing gecko narrates the tale with an inspired mix of Sam Spade-style dialogue and school-yard humor. Surprisingly, Hale pits Chet against genuine criminal activity -- "kidnapping, assault, and plotting to do very bad things" -- but with a little help our fourth-grade gumshoe is up to the task.

The puns are bad, the pace is fast, and the plot hangs together on this wonderfully satirical observation: "I'm not worried about the criminals, I'm worried about the PTA. Once they vote on something, they never change their minds." It makes you wonder who Bruce Hale is writing for.

The Mystery of Mr. Nice is Hale's second book about Chet, who has also appeared in The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse. Hale teases us with synopses of future Chet Gecko mysteries with such delectable titles as The Big Nap and This Gum for Hire. All of this goes to prove that comedy and crime do mix ... once you've invented Chet Gecko.

Visit Bruce Hale's web site.

The Chet Gecko Mysteries:

The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse. Harcourt, 2000
The Mystery of Mr. Nice. Harcourt, 2000
Farewell, My Lunchbag. Forthcoming from Harcourt in April 2001
The Big Nap. Forthcoming.
The Hamster of the Baskervilles. Forthcoming.
This Gum for Hire. Forthcoming.

Reviewed by Wendy Morris. ©2000 by Wendy Morris

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