Mack Rhino, Private Eye: The big race lace case by Paul Dubois Jacobs and Jennifer Swender, illustrated by Karl West

I've tried several of the Quix imprint and always been disappointed, until I picked up this latest series. I hadn't realized, until I went to purchase it, that it's written by the same person who did the popular chapter book series, Animal Inn. All the other Quix titles were just... not quite right. Too clunky, too blah, didn't translate well to the easy reader/beginning chapter format, etc. But this one is just right and I'll be adding it to my upper level easy readers.

Mack the Rhino is ready for his 100th case. But first he has to check out the race in town, find flowers for his friend's birthday, and stop for ice cream. After all, he only has a mysterious note to go on! As Mack wanders around town with his friend, Redd Oxpeck, they discover that there are lots of mysteries going on in town, including the mysterious disappearance of the laces from the runners' shoes. Eventually, they manage to solve all the cases and there are tasty cupcakes for all.

Cheerful cartoon illustrations accompany this mildly humorous and gentle mystery. Kids are likely to quickly pick out the villain, but since he gets his comeuppance immediately and it's really a mild mystery anyways, there's no peril or tension. Kids will be free to concentrate on their reading skills and enjoy the silly story. This is given a 570 lexile level, and has eight chapters, a list of words, and some discussion questions. Kids who enjoy the Urgency! Emergency! and Detective Paw series will be ready to go on to this one, and those who aren't ready to tackle the classic beginner mysteries, like A to Z or Cam Jansen, will be content with this new series.

Verdict: If you need more extra-easy beginning chapter books or upper level easy readers and have kids who like silly mysteries, this book fills the bill and the series should prove popular.

ISBN: 9781534441132; Published 2020 by Aladdin; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library