cover image Marlowe the Great Detective

Marlowe the Great Detective

Katharine Whild. Deerbrook Editions, $16.95 (36pp) ISBN 978-0-9712488-4-7

The titular cat narrates with a deadpan private-eye delivery. ""It was a day like any other day,"" he begins. ""I was relaxing on my porch, when this dame walks by."" The accompanying spread shows an orange tabby sleeping on the left page, while the striped legs and tail of a second cat tiptoe across the page on the right. ""So,... You great scruffy red rug, do you want a job?"" begins Franny. The mice have disappeared, and she implicitly asks Marlowe to find them. Across one spread, the furry sleuth does numerous stretches, including yoga poses. Whild's uncluttered pastels possess a quiet charm, particularly in the scenes illustrating the investigation. On the left of one spread, Marlowe peers into a mouse apartment building with six vertical holes in a tree trunk, decorated variously with shutters, shrubs and potted plants; the right-hand image shows the inside view of a cat eye examining a cozy interior scene (tiny armchair, lamp, a hanging mouse portrait). Marlowe eventually discovers a mouse party in the woods, with mice wearing patterned clothes and party hats, playing cards and doing acrobatics. The assignment unites the two cats who, in the final illustration, face away from readers to observe a bumblebee. Unfortunately, an awkward framing device (an unnecessary second narrator begins and ends the tale) and a thin story line undermine the tale's visual and narrative appeal. Ages 4-8.