The Plucker A Beastly Crimes Book (#4)

"A clever whodunit featuring believable animal characters in a convincing, recognizable society. A few full-color illustrations from Muravski add to the appeal. Mystery fans (around the world) should rejoice." — Kirkus

In the finale of the four-book Beastly Crimes series, Chief Badger faces his most bizarre case yet, in which someone is plucking and burning the feathers of birds in the Far Woods. To make things even worse, the top suspect is his former assistant, young Badgercat. Chief Badger knows that Badgercat can't possibly be the Plucker, so who plucked Lady Cuckoo and attacked the owl twins, Chuck and Huck? Was it Warbler the barber, who's obsessed with hair, fur, and feathers? Or the sly, treacherous Arctic Fox? Was it the compulsive thief, Sneaky Sal the salamander? Or someone else?
Newly translated from the original Russian, this delightfully offbeat mystery is graced by a wealth of full-color illustrations and is certain to thrill all young sleuths. Look for the previous novels in the Beastly Crimes series — In the Wolf's Lair,A Predator's Rights, and The Claws of Rage.

Anna Starobinets is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, and journalist. Best known as a writer of dystopian and metaphysical stories, she is also a successful children's author. Her previous titles include Catlantis, translated from Russian into English by Jane Bugaeva, and praised by Kirkus Reviews as "a trippy, silly tale of cat magic, folklore, and love….Bugaeva's punny translation will make this a fine read-aloud. A must for those seeking culturally diverse literary experiences."

CONTENTS
 
Chapter 1: In Which the Special Agent Gets Things in Order
 
Chapter 2: In Which Animals Are Insulted
 
Chapter 3: In Which a Confession Is Made Under Torture
 
Chapter 4: In Which There Is a Sack, a Shrine, and Some Poetry
 
Chapter 5: In Which Badger Has No Self-Respect
 
Chapter 6: In Which an Enemy’s Enemy Is a Friend
 
Chapter 7: In Which No One Can Be Trusted
 
Chapter 8: In Which No One Wants to Give a Feather
 
Chapter 9: In Which a Rifle Is Aimed From
 
Chapter 10: In Which a Slippery Character Is Missing
 
Chapter 11: In Which Badgers Lie
 
Chapter 12: Short but Terrifying
 
Chapter 13: In Which Everyone Has Their Own Truth
 
Chapter 14: In Which a Bee-tie Is Required
 
Chapter 15: In Which a Heart Beats Like a Woodpecker
 
Chapter 16: In Which Badgercat Talks to His Shadow
 
Chapter 17: In Which Badger Becomes Bold
 
Chapter 18: In Which a Psychopath Plays with a Psychologist
 
Chapter 19: In Which There Is a Confession
 
Chapter 20: In Which There Is a Death Sentence
 
Chapter 21: In Which There Is No Pulse
 
Chapter 22: In Which the Penguin Is Ready to Shine
 
Chapter 23: In Which a Brilliant Plan Is Worked Out
 
Chapter 24: In Which Animals Don’t Change
 
Chapter 25: In Which the Maniac Is Caught
 
Chapter 26: In Which the Heart of the Matter Is Pecked At
 
Chapter 27: In Which There’s a Miracle
 
Chapter 28: In Which Some Are Left Speechless
 
Chapter 29: In Which Brother Betrays Brother
 
Chapter 30: In Which the Clues Lead Straight to the Top
 
Chapter 31: In Which Badger Is Threatened
 
Chapter 32: In Which Everything Is Done for Safety
 
Chapter 33: In Which Everything Fits in the Suitcase
 
Chapter 34: In Which This Is the End
 
Chapter 35: In Which There Are Screams of Fear
 
Chapter 36: In Which Idiots Don’t Have a Choice
 
Chapter 37: In Which Super Bats Don’t Cry
 
Chapter 38: The Last One