Publishers Weekly
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Truffles the feline enjoys an idyllic life with his human Sasha. But the spoiled house cat’s tranquility ends when Sasha decides that Truffles is lonely and needs a friend. Sasha soon brings home a box containing a puppy named Poppy, who rockets from the container and declares himself a puptective looking for a mystery to solve. The horrified house cat immediately retreats to nap, leaving Poppy to “puptect” his first mystery on his own. Poppy’s detecting drives Truffles to plot to oust the perpetually perky pooch. But Truffles’s attempts to sabotage Poppy’s investigations—including breaking a vase, eating Mom’s birthday cake, and digging up flowers—fail spectacularly. Sneakier efforts are needed to rid his home of pesky Poppy, prompting Truffles, disguised as the Blanket Bandit with Poppy’s purloined throw, to craft a mystery filled with Rube Goldberg–style traps to snare the canine. When Truffles’s plan succeeds too well, he must solve the mystery of the discouraged puptective’s heart’s desire: a real detective’s badge. In this effervescent graphic novel series opener, energetic illustrations by Tysoe (Emi Isn’t Scared of Monsters) capture the duo’s humorous antics, while the protagonists’ differing personalities promise plentiful schemes to come. Truffles and Poppy drawing lessons conclude. Ages 6–9. Agent: Maile Beale, Arc Literary Management. (Mar.)