“The Egghead Detective Agency Volume 2” by Pika Nani and illustrated by Jemma Jose. Published by Penguin. The much awaited sequel featuring the endearing Egghead Detective Agency who are back in action with five new ‘Egg-Citing’ mysteries to be solved.
The bubbly sister duo of Tam and Ant (short for Tamara and Antara) have had plenty of adventures from the time they have met Egghead. He is a friendly ghost of a popular international detective who lived a hundred years ago and was quite sought after those days. With the help of their little Buddhi that he makes them use and his own ghostly powers, the friendly detective has ensured that the sisters have cracked a series of cases in their apartment complex, Emerald Gardens. The first book ended with an unsolved mystery of how Egghead and his armchair came to be at the home of the two sisters. This book takes off from there and gives a solution to this mystery in addition to five other cases that come up before the Egghead Detective Agency.
Tam and Ant are never short of cases. A dinosaur bone is found in the garden of the apartment complex. How did it land up there and what problems will it cause for the residents? Emerald Gardens has been winning the trophy in the Model Apartment Competition conducted by the municipal corporation for two successive years. Can they win it for the third time in a row? What happens when Egghead along with his magical armchair go missing? Can the sisters find him before it is too late? Who is sneaking out comics from the charming Rainbow Tree bookstore in their neighbourhood? Are the rumours of a haunted flat in their apartment true? Could there really be another ghost in their midst apart from Egghead? What happens when a marathon runner goes missing during the sports day in Emerald Gardens? Read the book to join forces with the ever reliable Egghead Detective Agency and solve the mysteries using your “little buddhi” :)
Reading the book transported both me and my ten year old right into the setting. It was fun to solve the interesting mysteries with the help of solve it yourself (SIY) clues, picture puzzles, brain teasers and the likes given in the book. A great way to use our ‘little buddhi’ like Egghead says :) Having read the first book two years ago, we had been waiting eagerly for this one. The sequel proved to be as amazing and thrilling as the first one. Maybe even a notch better! The endearing characters, relatable and familiar settings given that it is set in our city of Bengaluru in Karnataka made it such a heartwarming read. Simple day to day incidents have been transformed into ‘egg-squisite’ mysteries in a charming manner by the author. The children are bound to fall in love with the trio of Ant, Tam and Egghead. The book is a wonderful addition to the genre of mystery and detective stories for children. The cheerful illustrations make the stories come alive complementing them wonderfully. My son is now wondering if Rainbow Tree bookstore in the story was modeled on “Funky Rainbow”, our favourite bookstore. We were curious and eager to know how the mystery of the armchair would be unravelled. We now hope that the detective agency comes back with more cases :)
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 7 and above.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India, for review. Thank you to Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!