Phillips's rollicking debut features 11--year-old John Boarhog, a clever orphan who lives in the ceiling of the fictional New York Museum of Natural History. After nearsighted museum director Victor van Eyck mistakes John for a museum custodian, he gives him an access code to the new Egyptology exhibit. Though John usually spends his nights reading books and avoiding detection, he begins browsing the artifacts, and when the exhibit's crown jewel, a ruby of extraordinary beauty called Egypt's Fire, is swapped for a fake, John is blamed and detained. He's eventually released into the reluctant custody of the world's best detective, Toadius McGee, and John--playing Watson to McGee's Holmes--joins him in hair-raising escapades as they hunt for the real gem. Their investigation takes them from center stage at a Broadway musical to a speakeasy filled with purple-clad patrons, and their adventures are populated by a large, flamboyantly rendered cast (many of whom are described as having brown skin), which includes intrepid reporter Jaclyn Star and Pickles, an actor with a secret. Though abundant jokes sometimes overwhelm at the expense of plot, this laugh-out-loud caper, reminiscent of Lemony Snicket's work, sits well among its madcap mystery cohort. Ages 8--12. Agent: Ann Rose, Prospect Agency. (June)

After losing his mother, John takes refuge in New York's Museum of Natural History, where he hides in a crawl space and befriends the kind staff. As a new Egyptian exhibit is being readied, John finds himself only feet away from the priceless ruby known as Egypt's Fire--but he's not alone. Everything goes dark, and the next moment, John is being accused of stealing the ruby. Only the charismatic Inspector Toadius McGee seems to believe John's innocence, and together they work to find the ruby. As Toadius and John get closer to the real culprit, they grow closer to each other as well, with John learning about being a detective, and Toadius sharing his views on life. They visit Broadway, eat blueberry pancakes, meet with a guild of thieves, and more, all while chasing one of the world's most elusive criminals. This fast-paced mystery, sprinkled with humor and life lessons, has enough twists, turns, red herrings, and secrets to keep readers guessing. A strong series starter for fans of clever mysteries.

Framed for the theft of a billion-dollar ruby, an 11 1/2-year-old orphan hooks up with the World's Greatest Detective to collar the perp. In a tale for which the word madcap might have been invented, hardly has John Boarhog awakened in a gallery of the fictional New York Museum of Natural History with what seems to be a very large gem in his pocket, than he's cast into a whirl of unlikely encounters and mishaps in pursuit of the world's greatest thief, the Mauve Moth--who might or might not, he is shocked to learn, be his beloved, long-missing mom! In the course of a plot that careens from the city jail to the observation deck of the Chrysler Building, climaxing with a chase through Manhattan involving a banana truck, a rickshaw, a horse-drawn carriage, a dog, a motorcycle, a police horse, and a fire truck, the plucky preteen meets a gaggle of (mostly) allies led by genial if maddeningly oblique Society of Sleuths investigator Toadius McGee…an oddly large number of whom confess to being ex-members of a certain defunct circus with a tragic past that will no doubt be articulated in future episodes. Along with proving to be a resilient sort, John turns out to be no mean detective himself and, by the end, proudly sports a probationary S.O.S. badge of his own. John, Toadius, and other significant characters have brown skin. A brisk romp chock-full of tricky twists and daffy doings. (Detective fiction. 10-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 5--8--Eleven-year-old orphaned John Boarhog, secretly living in the New York Museum of Natural History, is accused of stealing a valuable ruby from an Egyptian exhibit in this fun and often absurd middle grade mystery debut. John is discovered when he's found unconscious next to the Egyptian display case with the ruby in his pocket. An anonymous narrator recounts John's desperate efforts to prove his innocence. He's aided in his quest for justice by the incomparable Inspector Toadius McGee; actress Polly "Pickles'' Cronopolis, McGee's unrequited love; and the Great Goatinee, a cat burglar and bad magician. The real thief is the Mauve Moth, a criminal mastermind who, to John's disbelief, might be his mother who is thought to have died two years before. The plot is fun in a chaotic way, with double-crossings, plot twists, and outrageous characters and situations. John and company get mixed up in a Broadway show, a speakeasy brawl, and are kidnapped by the nasty head of the Jersey Home for Boys and its bullying orphans. It ends with a fantastical chase scene involving bananas, horses, hansom carriages, rickshaws, dogs, smooching teenagers, a fire truck, and dumpsters. It's not all nonstop comedy though. More sober moments reveal John's struggle to cope with the loneliness of losing his mother. John and Inspector McGee are brown-skinned, most other characters are white. VERDICT Readers who don't take the plot too seriously will enjoy this fast-moving cinematic madcap detective mystery, the first in a series.--Sharon Rawlins