Tank & Fizz: The Case of the Battling Bots by Liam O'Donnell & Mike Deas

I was pleasantly surprised by this slightly wacko chapter book mystery. It's a combination of mystery, fantasy, and pure fun.

Tank and Fuzz are two fourth grade monsters who solve mysteries in their spare time. (Tank is a tech savvy troll & Fuzz is a goblin) In this case the two detectives are asked to investigate possible cheating in a student built battle bot competition. Some older students claim that Rizzo, a known bully, is using professional technology instead of doing the work himself. The detectives first attempt to prove that Rizzo is a cheater ends up with the two of them in the principal's office.

There are probably creepier things than having a spider for a principal of a school, but I can't imagine what.

Fizz and Tank bring in Aleetha, an elf training to be a wizard, to help them out. They discover that Rizzo is connected to the mysterious Codex, an expert hacker who is threatening to destroy the city if construction of a new stadium isn't halted.

I came to really like these plucky little characters. They are nearly genderless, although I think Tank is supposed to be a girl. The book starts out with a great lead that is sure to grab readers attention. The plot is melodramatic with evil villains, corrupt officials, and environmental degradation. It's loaded with humour, but also has some tense action packed moments.

The combination of graphic novel and straight text will make chapter book readers happy. Here is an example from CanLit for LittleCanadians. Go to their link if you want to know more about this book as their review is far more detailed than mine. 

I'm not the target audience for this book, but I was entertained. I'm pretty sure kids will like it too. I might have to find and read the first in the series.

Readers who are fans of Ursula Vernon's Dragonbreath series will most certainly enjoy the Tank and Fizz series.