The Mystery of Mr. Nice: A Chet Gecko Mystery

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Addition to the Series
Review: Detective-extraordinaire, Chet Gecko, may have the heart of an artist, but he definitely doesn't have the talent, for every time he creates one of his masterpieces, he wins himself a one way ticket to Principal Zero's office. However, this trip was the strangest, for nasty Mr. Zero, was actually...nice to him. Chet knows that something fishy is going on, especially when he finds that there are a bunch of new teachers inhabiting the school who are all up to no good. In fact, they're up to something totally sinister, and it's up to Chet and his loyal mockingbird sidekick, Natalie Attired, to figure out what's going on before the entire school turns criminal.

After adoring the first CHET GECKO MYSTERY, THE CHAMELEON WORE CHARTREUSE, I just had to pick up THE MYSTERY OF MR. NICE, and I was in no way disappointed. Hale has created another fabulous novel featuring everyone's favorite gecko, Chet. Filled with his signature jokes, and quirky characters, Hale proves that this series has staying power. A must-have book for all those who enjoyed the previous book in the series, THE CHAMELEON WORE CHARTREUSE.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Rating:
Summary: Clever kids series
Review: I am still reading to my 5 year old and was looking for a storyline with a little more complexity and depth(I just couldn't survive another trip through Honey Bunny Funnybunny!). Hale is a clever writer that has adopted the style and tone of a 1950's detective novel (think Mickey Spillane). His dialogue is liberally sprinkled with witty quips kids can relate to ("they burst through the cafeteria doors faster than a vice principal after a sassy eighth grader"). The hero, Chet Gecko, is a smart-aleck elementary school age gecko that must outsmart a bevvy of unique characters (rats, gerbils, gila monsters, cats, etc.) and unravel clues to solve a mystery. The underlying mystery in each story is kept simple so as not to overwhelm the target reader. Overall, I would give this series an A+ for creativity and quality of writing.

Rating:
Summary: Loved It!
Review: My daughter loved this book! She read it in 3rd grade and it inspired her to read the rest of the series in 4th grade! She finds the plots very interesting and fascinating.

Rating:
Summary: Tons Of Fun
Review: The puns are great! This book definitely did'nt let me down

Rating:
Summary: Tons Of Fun
Review: This is a GREAT book!!! it is very funny. I love geckos and when I saw this book i grabbed it. It is also a mystery. A very neat mystery! I recommend this book to ANYONE!! This illisturations are AWESOME!!

Rating:
Summary: Aweful Children's Book
Review: This is the worst children's book I have ever read. My fourth grader had to read this book for school. He had a very difficult time realating to the story. I read it myself to see why he couldn't identify with it. The author smothers the pages with supposedly "cute" little quips that only add confusion to the story for a child reading at this book level. Sifting through these quips make it very difficult to stay with the very simple plot. I would not recommend this book to anyone.