"Thirteen-year-old Duncan lives with his unconventional bohemian aunt. She's determined to give him an expensive private education, even though Duncan isn't particularly interested in school. He wants to be a detective like the ones in the World's Best 100 Detective Stories, which he reads when he should be studying. As Duncan says: "In the beginning, it was simple: I wanted to be a detective, and I needed something to detect . . ." Fortunately for Duncan, he gets something to detect in the first chapter of this funny crime mystery. Full of twists and turns, laugh-out-loud adventure, and even a cobra and an alligator, this highly entertaining story will have readers wondering if they've solved the mystery (and most likely they haven't) until the last page turn. Ted Staunton ratchets up the fun in this fast-paced romp loosely based on a true story from Texas in the early 2000s."--