Horton Halfpott or the Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor or The Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset

From Tom Angleberger [read my interview with him here] author of the New York Times best-seller, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda comes Horton Halfpott or the Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor or the Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset. Wow is that a mouthful of a title!

Summary: Tom Angleberger's latest, loopiest middle-grade novel begins when M'Lady Luggertuck loosens her corset (it's never been loosened before!), thereby setting off a chain of events in which all the strict rules of Smugwick Manor are abandoned. When, as a result of "the Loosening," the precious family heirloom, the Luggertuck Lump (quite literally a lump), goes missing, the Luggertucks look for someone to blame. Is it Horton Halfpott, the good-natured but lowly kitchen boy who can't tell a lie? Or one of the many colorful cast members in this silly romp of a mystery.

So as you can see from the summary, this book does not take itself seriously, and I think that makes the book a whole lot more fun! One thing I was surprised by in this book was how different it was from The Strange Case of Origami Yoda but I guess that's to be expected seeing how this book takes place in Victorian England and Origami Yoda takes place is middle school. Personally I'm glad that Tom Angleberger can write well in two different genres. The only problem of this book was that it goes off on way too many side stories and ends of giving the reading a cartoon-filled headache. What can I say? As the back cover states "Tom Angleberger's loopiest novel yet".

4/5