Friday, January 6, 2012

Sherlock Holmes With Whiskers


Throughout the recent rave over Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows, another feisty detective is on the prowl. Fictional protagonist Tori Trotter is witty, sophisticated, and detail-oriented. Also, Trotter is a cat.

Seventy-five-year-old author and illustrator, Barbara Stretton, proud owner of seven cats, has been working toward her Tori Trotter series for years. She just released the third book in the installment called The Case of the Lurking Lion, where Trotter solves the mystery of a ghost feline outside of a local hotel. The series is targeted toward middle-schoolers and "cat lovers of all ages," according to today's article in Greenwich Citizen.

This delightful new series promotes quick-thinking, surprises, and a cast of unique characters, including Trotter's ridiculous sidekick, Scout, and a Maine Coon cat named Muffy. With all the slightly condescending middle-school reads out there, the Tori Trotter series is playful, smart, and doesn't take itself too seriously. Nor does the series' author.

"When I was assigned to write a guide for Bruce Hale's first Chet Gecko book," Stratton says of the equally lovely gecko-in-trenchcoat detective series, "I was struck by the hardboiled detective's voice and said to myself, 'I can do that. But my detective would be a cat.'"

To read student and teacher reviews of the new Tori Trotter series, check out the author's website.

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