This book is light hearted and easy to read as the print and spacing are quite large. I think it would probably appeal most to readers of about 8 and I think boys would enjoy it as well as girls because it talks a lot about boar poop! I shall certainly recommend it to my brother.

The Crumb family, Otto, Martha and Scarlett have to go to Muldoon in Scotland to stay with their Aunt Bessie whom they call Beastly. They are not looking forward to the trip as they would prefer to stay at home and solve crimes. They are joined on the train by a gang called the Unstopables led by Stinkerton. The three men have been following the Crumb children, who had foiled their attempt to steal a priceless elephant from a museum. The children have taken some of their father's amazing inventions with them and they spend their holiday trying to outwit the criminals as the preparations for Muldoon's Highland Games go on around them. They spend a lot of time outside when they get there, trying to avoid Aunt Beastly's attempts to get them to help her with her beloved boars. As the story reaches it's climax the children find a way to save Muldoon but will they catch Stinkerton's gang?

I found the middle part of the book rather slow moving but I enjoyed the last few chapters a lot. I liked all the unusual characters and best of all was Hamish and Angus's monster. It would be such fun to try to make one like it. Although this is not a book that you will remember long after you have finished it, I am sure that most children would enjoy reading it.

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