February 26th 2019 by Simon Schuster Books for Young
E ARC from Edelweiss Plus
Teddy and Summer are trying to get the fish cannon for the penguins under control and hoping to avoid being dragged into another mystery when... they are dragged into another mystery! Lily is back in the states and has had a complaint from the local Department of Fish and Wildlife that something not quite right is going on at local celebrity Lincoln Stone's house. His beloved dog, King, has been murdered, and he is sure a mountain lion is responsible. Teddy doesn't buy it, though, especially since Stone wants to use this as an excuse to have open season on mountain lions. Things are up at FunJungle as well-- the giraffes are having explosive diarrhea, which isn't the best thing for a zoo, and JJ McCracken puts summer and Teddy on the case to try to figure out who is feeding them something they ought not to have. There are run ins with the principal at the school, who is a friend of Stone's, an anniversary celebration at the park, and run ins with Marge and Nick as well. Teddy manages to solve the giraffe mystery, the death of the dog (which is unfortunate but realistic), and still spend quality time with Summer.
Strengths: Gibbs has a HUGE fan base at my school, and when Author Study projects were assigned, I thought there would be blood shed over the books! I can see why-- they are reliably funny and well-written, with reliable chase scenes that cause Teddy to save the day. I know and love the characters, and the mysteries are not overly gory or scary. King might have been an adorable Bichon Frise, but apparently a very nasty one.
Weaknesses: Marge and Nick get a little better with each book, but are still unlikable characters. I'm also not a fan of ridiculously bad principals.
What I really think: This book will check out within five minutes of hitting my library. I adore the covers and am glad that they have retained the same delightful style. That said, five books is the ideal length for a series, and I know that Mr. Gibbs has lots of good ideas, so I will be ready to say goodbye to Teddy after the next book. Which I feel should involve a penguin.
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