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Book Review of The Mystery of Merlin and the Gruesome Ghost (Humpty Dumpty, Jr., Hardboiled Detective)

The Mystery of Merlin and the Gruesome Ghost (Humpty Dumpty, Jr., Hardboiled Detective)
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Helpful Score: 2


Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com

Humpty Dumpty, Jr., Hardboiled Detective, has cracked a lot of tough cases in his life as an award-winning crime solver. But still, his toughest challenge yet is getting his new assistant, Rat, to go to school.

One day, while having the same old argument, a young girl about Rat's age, who calls herself Princess Lily, appears on their doorstep. She tells them that her school--Merlin's Institute for the Knowledge of Everything--is being haunted by a ghost in glowing armor. Her father, Prince Balto, fought the ghost last night, and now he's trapped in a deep sleep. Lily says that she wants to hire Humpty to solve the mystery.

Humpty and Rat follow Lily back to her school, which is actually Merlin's castle, transported all the way from England. After some trouble getting past the guards, the group barges into Merlin's office, where Merlin denies all of Lily's claims.

Out of ideas, Humpty tells Merlin that they've come to enroll Rat in the school. Merlin says no, absolutely not, since the boy is obviously not royalty. But then, the legendary sword of King Arthur, which Merlin keeps in his office to await the return of the king, begins to glow. Although Rat cannot draw the sword from its stone prison, Merlin is now convinced that Rat must be the reincarnated King Arthur!

Full of strange occurrences, mystical history, and a surprise ending that puts a new spin on the King Arthur legend, this book is for any child who loves to laugh. The whacky situations and hysterical illustrations definitely make this egg-cellent series one that you will not want to miss!