Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat

Li Chen

Penguin, 2024

208pp., graphic novel, RRP $A17.99

 9781761049477

Everyone knows that detectives are not the real deal unless they have a hat,  And so it is for Cat Town’s Detective Beans who has misplaced his.  His investigations take him all over the town as he meets and interviews different quirky residents, follows the clues and tries to solve the mystery – all before he has to be home in time for dinner with his mum.  

For independent readers who like graphic novels, this is the first in a new series that introduces them to the detective/crime genre with a mystery to solve,  twists and turns in the plot, a trusty sidekick and dodgy characters, and the need to sift the real from the not-so and put it together to reach a logical conclusion as the suspense and intrigue guilds – all within a story with a setting and theme suitable for younger readers.   

By putting their own detective’s hat on and engaging with the clues and puzzles, perhaps they will solve the mystery before Detective Beans does!

Or perhaps it will lead them into seeking other stories in this genre or maybe even beginning to recognise and understand the concept of genre itself and that each as its own particular themes, structures and devices that carry the tory along in a fairly predictable way.