This is the completed sequel to Worcester Glendenis Kid Detective. Both books in the series are available on Amazon.
This is the completed sequel to Worcester Glendenis Kid Detective. Both books in the series are available on Amazon.
Every schoolkid fears a time in the day when tiredness trumps attention.Â
On this sultry Sydney afternoon Worcester Glendenis (WG to his friends) is struggling to stay awake. Besides, what could possibly go wrong with a little snooze after lunch?
Just as a fly escapes a clap of hands, WGâs attention flees from his grasp, as his eyelids flicker, then hesitate in an open position before they close when,
BRRRRRIIIIING
a loud alarm rings.Â
Mr Born the geography teacher calls the class to attention.
âBoys and girls, please pack up your things and move to the assembly hall now. That includes you, Worcester.âÂ
âThundering Therapists,â WG sprays in his half-stupor, âwhatâs happening?â
âA special assembly. I wonder what itâs about?â his friend Esther Plumrose responds.
âNothing to do with me,â but his grumbly stomach fears the opposite.
âGet moving, come on!â Mr Born adds.
As if it were a magnet, the assembly hall attracts all the pupils and teachers to its door, in the form of a person-python that squeezes through its portals.
Worcesterâs inner voice speaks.
Why do boys always jostle each other when they are crowded together, yet girls chat away without pushing and shoving?Â
Â
He makes a mental note to ask his parents later.
Â
Are boys and girls different? Yes, it must be true: he is nothing like his little squirt twin sisters.
Â
The school python slithers into the assembly hall, breaks up and disperses itself across the seats, while the teachers sit on the podium. WG notices that Mr Born wears coloured socks. The other male teachers, and those female teachers in slacks, wear grey socks. What is Mr Born telling the world with that choice? Conversely, what are the grey-socked teachers not telling the world with their non-choice?
A blaze of noise and anticipation fills the hall. The pupils have no idea what to expect. The teachers are no better informed. A door squeaks open and the tiny figure of headmistress Mrs Newton enters.Â
The room goes quiet. What Mrs Newton lacks in height she compensates with her formidable reputation.Â
WG looks around at the other students. Esther smiles back at him. He glances at the teachers on the podium. Not one of them engages him with eye contact.Â
The air in the hall is thick with apprehension.Â
The only sound is the light tip-tap of Mrs Newtonâs high heel shoes on the wooden floorboards as she steps up to the microphone. It squawks and whistles as she lowers its height to meet hers.
âStudents,â Mrs Newton begins, âthere has been a serious incident at school today that I must inform you of.â
A low hum vibrates in the hall as the children mumble their fears and questions to each other. They turn to talk to others, the mumbles become more vocal, causing the hum to increase to a din.
âQuiet please! This is very, very serious. I received a visit this morning from Mr Wimbledon, Wilhelmina Wimbledonâs father. In case you donât know, Wilhelmina is one of our most promising young students.â
Mrs Newton pauses to adjust her glasses then continues.
âAccording to Mr Wimbledon she has been missing since early this morning. To top that, she hasnât been seen at school today. She left this note for her father, which I will now read to you.â
Mrs Newton takes a piece of paper from her pocket and reads:
Dear Daddy
Please donât worry. I have gone out. Not for long I hope. I am solving a criminal case just like Worcester Glendenis has done. I will make my bed when I come back. Love W.
âWorcester Glendenis please come to the podium now and explain this.â
Worcester stands up and shuffles past Esther, then his other friends Lincoln, Cousin Geoffrey, and Vibbly, his head held low. Vibbly, being Vibbly, trips him up. Splat! WG falls on his face. He isnât hurt physically. In fact in one acrobatic movement he springs up, gives Vibbly the death stare, then marches on as if nothing happened.
Meanwhile, the messy behaviour in the hall mutates into a jungle of confusion. To Worcester the assembly hall feels like a huge mouth closing its jaws on him. His vision is a blur, his ears are ringing with the noise, and his stomach churns with fear.Â
The podium seems kilometres away as he approaches, then as he reaches it, he takes seven steps upwards and stops next to Mrs Newton. Because she is not tall, he has no need to extend his height by standing on his tippy-toes.
At that second, time and the world stops for him. He canât hear the hubbub any longer. His field of vision is a big fuzz. His mind flashes like a neon light.
Why do I have to go to school? Can I make today disappear? Can I instantly grow up by 20 years to become an adult like Philip Marlowe?
Â
A massive noise, as loud as a jet plane, fills the space, but Worcester is more inside himself than in the world around him. The noise grows and grows and grows.Â
Warning: By focusing on whatâs obvious you can miss important clues. Like what this entertaining and engaging book is about. The cover art suggests the contents might be a cartoon or a young adult graphic novel. Nah. This is a full-blown âdetectiveâ book starring our hero, thirteen year-old super sleuth Worcester âWGâ Glendenis. (If that nameâs not a stroke of creative genius, what is?) WG is a young private detective. Think junior Sherlock Holmes. Or better yet, Phillip Marlowe, WGâs hero.
Our story begins when a classmate goes missing. WG is blamed. He must deploy all his considerable sleuthing skills to clear his name and find out what happened to âWillyâ â and I donât mean âWonka.â Following some handy-dandy sleuthing principles, WG knows he must start at the start and connect the dots. Willyâs trail leads to the mall and a shop called Dress Without Stress. The shop is teetering on the rim edge of insolvency. Itâs owned by one of Willyâs relatives. Abby is estranged from Willyâs mother. Willy has left school to try and help.
But things are not as they seem in this quick-moving detective-ish story. Like, why are clothes missing from Abbyâs shop? Whoâs taking them, and why? And sometimes the only way forwards is backwards. Incidentally, hair goo can come in handy when stopping a thief on the run. Who knew?
Anyway, the gameâs afoot when WGÂ finds himself âall tied up.â How will he escape? What would Marlowe do? And whatâs up with Mr. Bornâs socks? And that cryptic message about some shadowy âacademyâ? What is it and more importantly, what does it âteachâ? Also, what about âsecurity guardâ Frank? Will the gang of six ever see their bicycles again? And oh yeah. Does anyone really put Vegemite on their toast?
The names of the characters in this book are a hoot and a half! How can you not love a protagonist named âWorcester Glendisâ (pronounced âwuss-ta")? And what about âWilhelmina Wimbledonâ? (Iâm thinking tennis and Serena Williams.) Ditto âGussie Gutterpipe,â âLoretta Lostboy,â and âMiss Fingernsip.â How âbout âEsther Plumroseâ and âEmilia Sondgard"? Delicious!
Thereâs plenty of action in this book as the author doles out just enough literary breadcrumbs to keep middle graders sifting through clues without giving away too much too soon. The writing is crisp. The back and forth banter between WG and the âgang of sixâ â WG, Esther, Cousin Geoffrey, Vibbly, Lincoln, and Willy- Â is hilarious! Ditto the scenes featuring WGâs twin sisters, Gerta and Shilla. The pacing is brisk. It will grab middle grade readers and keep them turning pages until the very end. I also enjoyed the emphasis on teamwork in solving the crimes and cracking the case.
Additionally, the rapier wit and clever word play in this book will put a smile on your face. There are also some âthrowbacksâ to pop culture of yesteryear that will appeal to older readers. Example: âSlow down you move to (sic) fast, you got to make the morning last.â (Hi, Simon & Garfunkel.) Also, watch for Worcesterâs Grandpa. Heâs a scene stealer. And keep an eye out for âHardy Laneâ and âBond Street.â Much more!
This book is a quick read and lots of fun! It has more plot twists than San Franciscoâs Lombard Street. You may want to note that although the title is Mayhem in the Mall, the action in this book is not confined to a mall. Just sayin'. The door is left open for a sequel. I canât wait!
By the way, what exactly is a âtreeble,â anyway? (Askinâ for a friend.)