Dave Shelton seems to be doing a fantastic job of introducing kids to detective noir.
First through his brilliant Doggy Detective strips in "The Phoenix" comic, "Good Dog, Bad Dog" is essential reading.
Now though Dave is stretching his word count into the area of middle grade fiction with a stunning bookish hero with a nose for a curious mystery.
Meet Emily Lime, destined to be a character your kids can't wait to dress up as on World Book Day for school. But first meet Daphne who is off to her new school, the rather posh St Rita's, an exclusive girls' boarding school.
It sounds awfully respectable and Daphne herself is awfully respectable too. She loves to read, and is delighted to be offered the chance to interview for Librarian's assistant's assistant immediately upon arrival.
But it turns out nothing is quite what you'd expect at St Rita's - you can't trust a padlock if the fourth graders are around, the floor has holes from cannonballs, the smell in the dining room is disgustingly foul, and Daphne discovers the librarian doesn't really exist.
But there is a librarian's assistant...
...And that's where Emily Lime comes in. She's a pint-sized brainy crime-solving genius, who's looking for a new assistant of her own (read: Detective Sidekick).
Could booksmart Daphne be the person for the job? With a new dark mystery unfolding right in front of them, Emily and Daphne need all the help they can get.
With a stylish swish of his pen, Dave has cooked up a brilliant "School" book that reads like a smarter more intense Mallory Towers mixed with a pinch or two of Scooby Doo. It's smartly written, sassy as heck and you will fall completely in love with whip-smart Emily, we guarantee it.
"The Book Case: An Emily Lime Mystery" by Dave Shelton is out now, published by David Fickling Books (kindly supplied for review).