Dogtown is a neighbourhood of a larger city, like Los Angeles. It is a rough area made up of small, poor houses, surrounded by hills that cut it off from the main city making it its own world. The world of Buddy, Ralphie, Little Pie, Cool and Rich; known as the Oak Street Boys.

The Oak Street Boys Club is where the local boys can swim, workout, play sports and hangout. But problems of rats, cockroaches, and deterioration of the structure itself keeps it constantly on the verge of being shut down. If this were to happen, the only place left for the boys to be is on the streets. Streets that have their own dangerous and bad elements.

Mr. Hannibal is the manager and jack of all trades in keeping the club open. When word is received that the building is to be condemned, Mr. Hannibal and the boys decide to send out another request for donations for money to repair the building and get rid of the vermin.

While going through the list, Ralphie is rattling off names and addresses. Ralphie is Buddy's younger brother who is autistic but has a fantastic memory; a memory that contains the complete list of Boys Club donors. The name of 'the Estate of Harriett Adkins' is mentioned, and brings up the subject of Buzzer. Buzzer is Harriett Adkins' cat and was the beneficiary of her half-million dollar estate when she died. The cat lives on the property with a live-in caretaker and a high priced vet on call. When Buzzer dies, the estate then goes to the Boys Club. The question is "is Buzzer still alive?" No one has seen the cat and he is quite old by now. This becomes the mystery in the story.

The estate is on top of one of the hills surrounding Dogtown, and is enclosed by high fencing and gates. The only know visitor is the vet. Otherwise no one sees or hears of the cat. The lengths and methods the boys go to to solve this mystery shows ingenuity, creativity and humours.

The action is good and I enjoyed the writing. The action keeps moving with progress and a few setbacks. There is humour and lessons to be learned. ( )