Time Stops for No Mouse [Paperback]

Michael Hoeye (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2003

Hermux Tantamoq is an ordinary, hard-working mouse, living in an ordinary metropolis. But when adventuress and aviatrix Linka Perflinger walks into his watchmaker's shop, his life becomes anything but ordinary. Linka disappears very mysteriously and Hermux, more than a little in love with her, sets out to find her. Adventure and danger follow as he uncovers a quest for the formula for eternal youth.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's impossible not to like Hermux Tantamoq, the watchmaking mouse. He relaxes in a flannel shirt printed with pictures of cheeses from around the world, he has a caged pet ladybug named Terfle, he writes endearing thank-you letters to the universe each night, and he has a big heart--a heart that aches for the fearless aviatrix Ms. Linka Perflinger, who unexpectedly visits his shop requesting an emergency rush repair of her wristwatch. Little does he know that this brief rendezvous with the jaunty adventuress will change his life forever. When a week goes by without word from her, he doesn't know whether to be worried or angry. He drafts a slightly unpleasant, then desperate, then not-too-sweet, not-too-sour letter to her and awaits her response. Nothing. Even nasty encounters with his neighbor (the horribly garish and affected cosmetics tycoon Tucka Mertslin) and pleasant interludes with his artist friend Mirrin don't distract him from his new heart-quickening obsession.

His worst fears start to cement when a yellow-eyed, thin-lipped, sharp-tongued rat comes to his shop and says with a dreadful smile, "I've come for Linka Perflinger's watch." Hermux isn't about to fork over his beloved's watch without a claim check, and ends up following the rat... all the way to Linka's house! And, what's this? Is she being kidnapped? The plot thickens as Hermux boldly enters her apartment (what has gotten into him?) and discovers a mysterious letter from Teulabonari and an overturned spicy-smelling plant. As he says to his ladybug that night, "This is the beginning of a new career for me. Either as a detective or a jailbird. Only time will tell. If it turns out to be the latter I will be asking you for hints on decorating my cage." Soon he begins to make a connection with these strange clues and the cosmetics mogul Tucka, who pulls him into her scheme to create eternal youth in a bottle (to be taken internally).

Suffice it to say that gentle Hermux gets in way over his head with his detective work and proceeds to have fur-raising encounters involving spies, thieves, killers, betrayal, the Fountain of Youth, snakes, calliopes, and dramatic rescue attempts. Throughout it all, however, Hermux continues to thank the world at large: "Thank you for corner grocers. For sandwiches and honey fizz. For scary news and narrow escapes and trolleys and shopping bags. Thank you for loyal pets and bold adventurers (and adventuresses)." Readers will be disarmed by Hermux's earnest, inquisitive nature and zeal for life--and thoroughly engaged by the suspenseful action adventure. Highly recommended! (Ages 10 to adult) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Michael Hoeye's Hermux Tantamoq Adventure series is now being published by Putnam. The first title, Time Stops for No Mouse, introduced the watchmaking mouse, Hermux Tantamoq, his pet ladybug, Terfle, and his crush, aviatrix Ms. Linka Perflinger. In the second episode, The Sands of Time, Mayor Hooster Pinkwiggin vows to close Mirrin Stentrill's art exhibit when he learns it features felines-a taboo subject in the rodent town of Pinchester. PW said the author's "galloping plot, evocative descriptions and exuberantly sophisticated wit keep the pages rapidly turning."
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (January 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141315121
• ISBN-13: 978-0141315126
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,164,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Probably Going to be Famous, February 17, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Time Stops for No Mouse: A Hermux Tantamoq Adventure (Hermux Tantamoq Adventures) (Hardcover)

Like most of my favorites, I had no idea that this would be a good book. I just read it. By the time I was two pages into it, I knew that this wasn't going to be an ordinary book.

Pretty much, the main story line goes like this: There is a city, called Pinchester, where the population consists of mice, rats, voles, chipmunks, squirrels...(you get the idea) and one of them is named Hermux Tantamoq. He is a watchmaker mouse and has a pretty much ordinary life, until one day, when Hermux is visited by Miss Perflinger, a young female mouse. She gives him a really torn up watch and her business card, which reads, "Ms. Linka Perflinger, Adventuress, Daredevil and Aviatrix, Bold Feats of Nerve and Verve, On Land and In the Air, Reasonable Rates, #3 Pickdorndle Lane, Pinchester." She tells him that the watch must keep perfect time. Even a second, she says, could mean the difference between life and death.

That is the point where I couldn't stop reading, and read it (only stopping for homework, eating, etc) til the end. I was so sad that it ended that I had to get the sequel, which I am working on right now.

I recommend the book for anyone 7 - adult. I loved it because of Michael Hoeye's touch. Some authors just give it their "touch" like Eva Ibbotson, Eoin Colfer, Roald Dahl, etc and Michael Hoeye fits right in.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for all ages!, June 24, 2001

By 

Kory Gott (Payette, ID United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time Stops for No Mouse: A Hermux Tantamoq Adventure (Paperback)

I'm a teacher who discovered this book during my Christmas vacation last year. I fell in love with the characters and knew I had to share it with my students. (I teach 7th & 8th graders.) My kids and I read the story together and they LOVED it. The action is well-paced and makes you want to keep reading. If you are a teacher, I highly recommend sharing this novel with your kids. And if your students are younger--read it aloud to them! I had my kids design game boards based on the characters and the events in the book. Their projects were a huge success because they were so motivated by the interesting plot and characters. There are some fantastic twists and turns to keep the reader intrigued. The sequal to this book is due out this fall and my 7th graders are begging me to "let" us read it in 8th grade next year. I highly recommend this book for ALL ages! You won't be disappointed.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great new book!, August 12, 2001

By 

Nancy E. "Nancy" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time Stops for No Mouse: A Hermux Tantamoq Adventure (Paperback)

Hermux Tantamoq is just your normal average everyday mouse. That is until the day Ms. Linka Perflinger comes rushing into his house, wanting her watch repaired ASAP. Hermux, sensing her worry and also being rather attracted to this young mouse, fixes it quickly and waits for her the next day to come it. Unfortunatly he never shows up. Days later a rather nasty looking rat comes up to his shop and askes for Ms. Perfllinger's watch. Hermux, being smart, refuses to give it to him and follows him to Ms. Perfllinger's house. WHen he get's there he's shocked to see what's going on. He finds himself drawn into a mystery so complex that he dosen't know who to trust or what to do. All he knows is he has to solve it quick before Ms. Perfllinger and possibly himself meets a dredful fate.

I found this book to be very entertaining and funny. I've been a fan of all animal worlds since I first read the Redwall series and this book dose not dissapoint me. The mystery was exciting and hard to solve. There's a surprise near the end that I Never saw coming. If you're a fan of mystery, suspence, and worlds where animals take the place of humans, read this book! I would reccomend it to anyone. This is a book for everyone. There's also another book in the series coming out in September that I can't wait for. Happy Reading!