Buck & Ears: Pirate Detectives

This new, illustrated adventure series for children is a playful introduction to the whodunnit genre, set in a world where talking animals and human beings live alongside each other…and virtually everyone is a pirate!

Buck is a child-pirate captain who has recently suffered a mutiny by his crew of miserable adults who did not appreciate being bossed about by someone so young. Strapped to a barrel and left for shark bait, he is a washed-up, penniless pirate with no crew, no ship and no treasure. Mercifully, his first-mate is strapped to the barrel with him. Ears is a very resourceful and resilient rabbit and, together, the pair set about finding their fortune in nearby Scuttleflint Bay.

The story quickly becomes a mystery when Buck and Ears overhear the fearsome Captain Bloodfang boo-hooing about her missing mermaid friend. The pair are challenged with solving the mystery of the missing mermaid in return for the very tempting reward of not being hacked up and turned into a stew!

Fortunately, Buck is a big fan of celebrated detective story author, Agatha Fishty, and is enthusiastic to put some of his clue-finding skills to the test. Indeed, Agatha Fishty has a role to play for the reader, too. She challenges readers to solve the mystery before Buck does, and occasionally pops up in the corner of the page to indicate that an important clue is present. 

Buck and Ears must find themselves a suitable vessel, as well as a new crew for it, and crack the case before Bloodfang’s patience runs out. They strike it lucky when they meet a friendly and open-minded group of animals who are not put off by Buck’s disastrous history as captain of a mutinous crew. An intellectual giraffe, a clever-spined porcupine and an impulsive pigeon complete the crew, strengthening Buck’s and Ears’s detective efforts and adding a little extra humour into the story, too. 

As the crew investigate, other mysteries emerge, such as missing ships in the harbour and an intriguing smell of peppermint. With a few visual clues provided by Horne’s characterful illustrations, too, there are plenty of details for young readers to pour over as they try to compete Fishty’s challenge. The book’s characters are fairly endearing, and the familiar pirate setting is fun (albeit rather unoriginal) but – now that readers have had a chance to practise the art of detection – they will hope for a little more action and adventure alongside the crime-solving and clue-spotting in future episodes.