I think it was interesting that Roger and Mabel planted fake notes to get Gertrude's focus on someone else and they ended up leading her to a true mystery! I think that was a good choice for Christelow to make because it made the book more exciting-- I originally thought Gertrude was not going to find anything since Roger and Mabel made up the note. However, Christelow created a twist and Gertrude was able to help find two thieves that the police had been searching for. I really like Christelow's style and illustrations. ( )

Gertrude is a dog who enjoys pretending to be a detective and solve mysteries. Gertrude practices her detective skills on her friends. She wears a disguise, uses binoculars and searches for paw prints. Her friends, Roger and Mabel, want her to stop so they decide to make a fake mystery and lead Gertrude to other places so she will stop following them. They write a note with purple paw prints and red paper leading Gertrude to a diner and then to a museum. At the museum she ends up seeing a real thief stealing a vase from the museum. Gertrude catches the bad guys and calls the police. Meanwhile while eating with Roger and Mabel she tells them she know the note was from them because Roger has red paper in his pocket and Mable has purple paint on paws. Her friends tried to lead her away and they actually helped her solve a real mystery. I recommend this book to k-3 and this book would interest children who like mystery like Gertrude. ( )