Set in an elementary school, with characters who are the animals their names sounds like.

Quillan Lu Hedgeson aka: Q (a hedgehog) and her best friend Ray Ratzberg (a rat) are school age wanta be detectives. As the scene opens, Q is in disguise and fooling the school as a new student from France. Q’s classic French beret, clothes, and raccoon eye mask  are very convincing, but her mannerisms quickly cue Ray into her deception. Later, the school has an assembly featuring a magic show starring the Great Dan Revealo. Ray has some magic background. Ray explains to Q at lunch how the tricks are done through distraction and misdirection.

A few days later the school goes on a field trip to the Elm Tree Art Museum. There they will have a chance to see the famous Mola Lisa by the famous artist Leonardo da Squinty. Suddenly the lights go out. When the lights come back on the painting is gone! Ray  and Q find two clues inadvertently left behind- a piece of confetti (like that used in the magic show) and a store receipt from a magic shop.  Ray & Q follow the clues. They lead to fingerprints left at the scene by Ms. Boar, who was in charge of the field trip. They quickly rule her out as a suspect. Then the clues lead to Ms. Easel the art teacher. Ray and Q think Ms. Easel was in disguise as the Great Dan Revealo for the assembly, but they do not have any strong evidence connecting her to the art theft. As Ray and Q fit the clue pieces together, Ms. Easel finally admits, ” ‘ The Mola Lisa should be mine. I’ve written papers on it. I’ve written poems about it.’ ” (42)

In one last disguise, Q finally fools Ray with her newspaper reporter disguise thanks to a trench coat hiding the stilts Q is using to double her height.

Readers will enjoy matching the characters in and out of their disguises, especially the curves of their noses, in this first book in the graphic novel series.

Page 48 contains FUN FACTS about the real Leonardo da Vinci.