Belly Up (review)

Something is rotten in FunJungle, the huge Texas park that's a cross between Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo, and it's up to twelve-year-old Teddy, the son of the park's primate specialist, to figure out what it is. The problem starts with the death of Henry, the foul-tempered hippo who's the park's mascot, and who turns out to have been deliberately killed. Teaming up with Summer, the daughter of the park's owner, Teddy investigates the crime and stumbles into what looks like a conspiracy—but can he solve it before Henry's killers come after him? Promotional copy connects Gibbs to Carl Hiaasen, and there's definitely something of Hiaasen's easygoing, direct style and ecology-related theme here. Even more than Hiaasen's work, though, this is steeped in old-fashioned adventure, starring a kid with enviable freedom and opportunity, who's tangling with classic crime (smuggling of emeralds!) and who's backed by two strong, protective parents. The setting is key, and Gibbs draws a vivid picture of FunJungle, a kajillionaire's pet project that's torn between gate-turning revenue and animal-preservation respectability. Teddy's free-range access to myriad animal enclosures is an alluring fantasy, which the book firmly supports with clear-eyed information about animal behavior and zookeeping logistics. Touches of humor provide additional enjoyment, with many readers likely to find the high and low point simultaneously in the high-speed splatter of a long-rotting hippo carcass. Smart, unironic, and confidently bereft of cool, this is a solidly enjoyable action mystery, a useful complement to Anderson's satirical Thrilling Tales titles (Whales on Stilts, BCCB 4/05, etc.).