Customer Reviews

The case of the fugitive firebug

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I remember really enjoying this book when I was a kid and I couldn't resist getting a copy as an adult (to give to a future grandson I suppose). It was as good as I remember and was engaging and enjoyable to read even as an adult. Inspector Roger Tearle is a 12 year old detective who excels at deductive reasoning and it is refreshing to read about a heroic character who comes out on top by using his intellect and shrewd reasoning. Corbett does an excellent job of describing Roger's inner thoughts and they're quite funny. Though the book is written for children, Corbett doesn't talk down to them, and a child reader can certainly imagine himself or herself doing what the Inspector does.

This one is really good, but there are several other books with the same set of characters, Grey Piper. I have "The Case of the Gone Goose", "The Case of the Burgled Blessing Box", "The Case of the Ticklish Tooth", and "The Case of the Silver Skull"-that may be all of them.
If you like Corbett, check out "Cutlass Island" and "Treehouse Island" as well-read them both from the library as a kid, and they're really good.

I bought this for myself, old as I am. Read it when I was kid, didn't remember a whole lot of it, but remembered that it was one of my favorites. Enjoyed it thoroughly all over again, for a kid's book I mean.

The story is engaging and unusual. The characters, of the kids especially, are believable, even if the local police chief is the stereotypical foil in most detective stories -- the marginally competent crimefighter, always suspecting the wrong people, and two steps behind the protagonist ("Inspector" Roger Teale), who is his prime suspect. (Wasn't that every episode of "Murder She Wrote"?) The bad guys of the adult variety are quite scary and authentic. There is no cartoonish tough talk or flamboyant behavior to tag them as such, as clearly as a black hat and curling mustache. The bad guy of the kid variety - who has unexpectedly turned up on "Inspector" Teale's doorstep is an unlikeable kid of the kind we all knew and disliked in grade school: a sneak, a troublemaker, a general pain. That is Hayes "Hazy" Milford, the poor little (spoilt) rich kid. That Corbett could turn this character around as much as he does into a sympathetic figure is a terrific achievement, and shows a level of sophistication not often found in kids' books. Roger's friend "Thumbs" (as in "all thumbs") and his twin sister Shirley (yes, I'm very serious -- but you *can* call her Shirley) play some key parts in the story, but are not fleshed out nearly as well as the others.

Roger himself is authentic and believable -- barely. A genius and polymath who can run private telephones, perform magic, play chess by mail (long before the internet of course!), AND has a collection of cases to make Mr Holmes envious! I think his over-the-top-ness is deliberately slightly humorous. One thing I remembered best was his insistence on performing a card trick at a most inopportune time, the performance of which triggers the connection which has been nagging at his subconscious, and solves the case. Another subtle sophistication is that unlike a lot of young heroes, Roger isn't a two-dimensional good guy. He has his fears, of parental discovery of course, which may be typical, as well as of getting caught by the bad guys. Atypically, he is painfully aware that he is operating on the edge of lawfulness, and may be sharing in the possible guilt of Milford, who has engaged Roger to clear his name. There are some very accurate discussions of what an accessory-after-the-fact is, and what penalties may attach (although that such penalties would not attach to juveniles is glossed over.) Roger has some serious bouts of conscience-wrestling because he has gotten so deep in such a questionable matter: he considers it a point of honor almost lawyerly to stand with his client and keep faith with him, regardless. Also atypically, as the story winds down, it is an adult who blows Roger's cover story and exposes the whole scheme. Fortunately by then, all the pieces of the puzzle have started falling into place, and the whole truth is discovered. But not before Roger discovers he is himself flawed, overconfident perhaps, and cocky; certainly it is a bit of classical hubris by which he shoots himself in the foot. Let's just say that sometimes "The Purloined Letter" ploy is NOT the way to go.

The wrap-up is touching, but not smarmily so. It is a satisfying conclusion to a terrific tale.

I don't believe I've read any of Corbett's other work, which seems to be prolific. I don't know if it would engage me now, as an adult, not having read it previously. As noted, my pleasure in this book was in the nostalgia of it (although let me emphasise that my praise of it is unconditional.) I was hoping to find some of Roger's other cases in Corbett's bibliography! But sadly, this appears to be the sole Roger Teale story. I'll probably pass this on to my youngest son now, and hope he enjoys it as much as I have.

Highly, highly recommended.