“The Case of the Jewel Covered Cat Statues” by Cindy Vincent

Buckley and Bogey, Cat Detectives, find their next big case with the Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Agency to be their most complicated ever! It all starts when someone hides a mysterious package in their Mom’s antique store — in the middle of the night! Of course, the boys find it, and put it in a nice, safe place, until they can open it . . . and, find the rightful owner. But that’s when a whole bunch of suspicious people show up in St. Gertrude, and every single one of them seems to be after that package! Holy Catnip! Plus, everything happens just when a priceless, jeweled statue collection goes on display at the St. Gertrude Museum. Missing from that collection are two jewel covered cat statues that disappeared almost a hundred and fifty years ago.

But soon Buckley and Bogey wonder how long those statues will stay missing. Because this is one case that really keeps them on their paws! From a trip to the Museum, and to an old church for the Blessing of the Animals; and from dinosaurs to diamonds, they end up dodging shady suspects the whole time. It sure helps to have their friends with them, especially when the bad guys make a beeline for boys. That’s because it becomes very clear, very quick — the priceless cat statues aren’t the only cats those crooks are after! Holy Mackerel!

Your child will love Bogey and Buckley. They’re funny, smart, and into everything.  You’ll love them, too – because they star in the perfect mystery books for young readers. 

Bogey’s character is modeled after – you guessed it! – Humphrey Bogart.  He’s full of cliches and style, but he’s kind and a good mentor to Buckley, too.  Buckley is a bit more dramatic.  He’s a younger cat who’s still growing into his paws and is full of enthusiasm – but still gets scared in the face of danger.  His timidity and newness to the world of detective work makes him the perfect character to bridge the gap between classic gumshoe slang and the abilities of young readers.

This story is marketed as being suitable for tweens, but my kids could’ve read it long before then – and it’s certainly clean and wholesome enough for any reader.  Buckley even learns several life lessons throughout the story, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed it.  If my kids are going to read about crime and drama, I want the characters to learn from their mistakes.  In this case, it wasn’t that Buckley or Bogart caused the problems, but the dangerous scenarios were serious.  They were caused by people with major criminal intent, and having Buckley learn from their mistakes is the perfect way to balance this suspenseful plot with the spiritual needs of a young child.

The crime drama was not the least bit scary, though.  Even though Buckley trembles and needs the reassurance of frequent cat treats, his tendency to yell, “Holy catnip!” and frequent saluting mishaps made the whole story funny.

I must admit that in the beginning Buckley’s never-ending dialogue made it difficult for me to adapt to the flow of the story, but My Big Helper had no such problem.  She dove right in and loved it from the first page – and after finding my literary balance, I enjoyed it, too.  

The Case of the Jeweled Cat Statues would make a great family read-aloud or fun story for beginning readers through tweens.  It’s clean, wholesome, and fun all the way through. We can’t wait to check out more books by Cindy Vincent.  Don’t take my word for it, though – read on to find out what My Big Helper thought:

I like The Case of the Jewel Covered Cat Statues because of the adventure, mystery, lesson, and the perspective.  In the suspenseful parts, I felt just like Buckley the cat. I laughed every time Buckley messed up at saluting Bogey and my heart stopped in exciting parts.  I love how the author combined a mystery and a lesson in friendship together.  This book is cat-astic and once you read it, you’ll want to get your paws on another one!

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Cindy Vincent was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and has lived all around the US and Canada. She holds an M.A.Ed, and is the creator of the Mysteries by Vincent murder mystery party games and the Daisy Diamond Detective Series games for girls. She is also the award-winning author of the Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Caper books, the Daisy Diamond Detective book series, and the Cats are Part of His Kingdom, Too: 33 Daily Devotions to Understanding God’s Love. She lives with her husband and the real, live Buckley and Bogey, who run surveillance on her house each and every night.