Agent Lion by David Soman and Jacky Davis (review)

When Ms. Flamingo's cat, Fluffy, goes missing, Agent Lion is on the case. After questioning Ms. Flamingo for some key details ("Does Fluffy have a trunk? … Does he have antlers? … Wings?"), Agent Lion moves on to grilling the neighbors, though distractions abound in Mr. Wombat's tantalizing cake, Ms. Hippo's shiny tuba, and the latest issue of Jelly Donut Digest. An irritated but nonetheless cordial Ms. Flamingo puts a stop to the investigation and then promptly invites the agent for tea back at her apartment, where, wouldn't you know it, Fluffy has been all along, looking very much like an easy-to-miss couch pillow. Agent Lion's bumblings are only mildly humorous from the get-go and quickly lose their freshness, and the payoff is rather anticlimactic for all of his efforts. The illustrations are key here, as they comically contradict the serious narration (a map showing Agent Lion's stopping at every bit of entertainment and food along "the absolutely most direct route" to Ms. Flamingo's), and Ms. Flamingo's increasingly irritated expression juxtaposed against Agent Lion's wide-eyed innocence will likely garner a few chuckles. Selznick's Baby Monkey (Baby Monkey, Private Eye, BCCB 3/18) still reigns supreme as cutest animal sleuth, but aspiring gumshoes might appreciate Agent Lion's dedication to the investigation, if not his results.