Eleven-year-old Prudence "Pru" Potts of the small New England town of Middleton fancies herself as a detective, just like her late father was. One day, an envelope is slipped under her bedroom door by unseen hands, and the card inside reads: "WHAT IS THE UNBELIEVABLE FIB?" For Pru, "Questions were like mysteries. Both demanded answers."
More mysteries materialize: thunderous dark clouds; a suspicious, raggedy squirrel; a tall man in a gray coat; and a new sixth grader at school named ABE--who Pru's roped into working with on a report on Norse myths Fortunately, ABE likes puzzles, too, and before they know it, they are in the Middleton cemetery where Pru's dad is buried ("She hated the place"), trying to solve the riddle written on the cryptic card. "I am the nigh omniscient Ratatosk," announces a shabby squirrel in the cemetery. "You're in extreme peril." Ratatosk is right, because Norse giants are on the loose in Middleton, in search of the Eye of Odin, and the thunder god Thor is out to whack them. If the Eye falls into the wrong hands, whole worlds could be destroyed, and it may be only Pru and ABE (in cahoots with the tall, gray-coated man from the Fantasy Investigation Bureau) who can save the day. Pru, rather snappish and standoffish since her father died, is not the usual spunky heroine, and her grief is a somber undercurrent in the entertainingly over-the-top story.
Shaughnessy blends an exploration of the nature of truth, myth and magic with sixth-grade shenanigans to create a grand adventure for Pru and ABE... and a promising series debut. --Cathy Berner, Blue Willow Bookshop