Investigators is the first book in a new series by John Patrick Green; who as an author and as an illustrator is busy! He has (so far) The Kitten Construction Company series (currently two books), Hippopotamister (a solo tale) and now the Investigators (book two is planned for a year from now).
There are a lot of puns, obvious jokes and toilet humor (literally as they travel the city by flushing themselves through toilets). There are multiple mysteries for this Get Smart meets The Man from U.N.C.L.E graphic novel. The first is our cracked… I mean crack, Investigators, Mango and Brash must find a missing chef. The other is who stole the scientists Thingamabob? Are they connected? Who is the person ordering a cake large enough to hide a dinosaur in (and wears a raincoat on a sunny day)? Is the big stove or medium stove missing? And who gets to wear the mustache? With their V.E.S.T’s (Very Exciting Spy Technology) given to them by S.U.I.T. (Special Undercover Investigation Teams) they (and us) will learn this and more.
Aimed at ages 7 to 10, a younger reader could have it read to them. The graphic novel format should not turn you off, it is there to help move along the plot points. You read them more quickly than the text in some places. The three parts I am not thrilled is when the author/artist breaks the fourth wall and interacts with the characters, there is a side story not really needed and some jokes run on a bit too long (at least for an adult reader). Otherwise, your typical “goofy kid” will gobble it up.