Scat by Carl Hiaasen

There's something comforting about a good mystery. There are good and bad characters. The plot has some suspenseful moments and will keep you guessing. It has unexpected twists and turns. Eventually the forces of evil will get their comeuppance. It's formulaic, but we know this at the outset, and that predictability is why it's safe.

I read Hiaasen's adult work before he started writing for younger readers. No matter the audience, he takes the formula and makes it his own. On top of this, Hiaasen embeds environmental issues into gripping reads so that we are educated as we are entertained. I've never been disappointed in one of his books. Scat is no exception.

It starts out in a classroom where Mrs. Starch, the nightmarish biology teacher, has her students, including our protagonists, Nick and Marta, terrified. Well, all of the students except for Smoke, who chews up and swallows the pencil she points in his face after she has publicly humiliated him. 

Then Smoke is framed for a deliberately setting a forest fire that results in Mrs. Starch going missing.

Villains are revealed trying to drill illegally for oil in protected wilderness and panther habitat. 

There is a baby panther without its mother. 

You might think Nick has enough on his plate with a father seriously injured in Iraq. In spite of, or maybe because of this, he and his friend, Marta, try to figure out what happened to Mrs. Starch. They end up embroiled in a situation beyond their comprehension. 

There are numerous characters. (I admit to being a bit confused at first. It might be because I was listening to this as an audiobook.) Once I had them sorted out, I just settled in for a whopping great yarn. All of them are developed with emerging complexity as the story progresses. 

I look forward to recommending this one to the mystery fans at school. I think it might even convert those haven't yet discovered the comfort in them.