Sloth Sleuth. Cyndi Marko. 2022. 192 pages. 192 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: Psssst. Hey you, kid. Wondering what a sloth is doing parasailing? And why there's a long line outside the diner?
Premise/plot: Set on the tropical island of Winklefuss, Sloth (and friends) always have plenty of mysteries to solve. Winklefuss, so we're told, is home to plenty of criminals--criminal animals to be more exact. Though some of the residents are human. (Including a librarian and a police officer). So what kinds of cases are ongoing in Sloth Sleuth? Well, someone is stealing all the nuts, but, that is more of a back-back-back burning story. The main mystery story is WHY so many people are being poisoned at the local diner.
My thoughts: This one has half-a-dozen gimmicks or so. Don't expect tons of character development. Do expect plenty of sloth jokes--sloths falling asleep, sloths going slow, sloths pooping, etc. Paz, our sloth sleuth, is adorable. I won't lie. But the story wasn't much. The cast of characters has/had potential. But that same cast is also very large. So very few are developed. They do offer limited comic relief. Like the island's biggest crime boss being a goldfish still in the bag. But overall, as an adult reader, and an adult reader who isn't all that enthusiastic with graphic novels, I was a bit disappointed. I would be curious if kids in the actual actual target audience (mid-elementary) liked this one. Or perhaps they might even love it?
© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers
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