The Footprint Mystery

In the peaceful woodland village of Berryville, at the edge of Slow Forest, life runs sweet and orderly — until mysterious footprints appear in the mud near the wild blackberry patch. They come from nowhere. They lead nowhere. And the whole village is in a flutter.

Enter the Stinkerton Detective Agency: a family of skunks who are famously clean, surprisingly clever, and exactly who you call when something disturbs the peace. Jerry Stinkerton — grumpy, skinny, blackberry-loving, and secretly the most softhearted detective in the woods — takes the case. With his unflappable right hand Kalinda and a cast of villagers who each have a theory (and most of them wrong), Jerry sets out to discover who's been leaving prints where no prints should be.

What he finds isn't a monster at all. It's the beginning of a friendship that will change everything.

Funny first, warm all the way through, and never scary, The Footprint Mystery launches a cozy chapter-book series for young readers ages 6–10 who love a gentle whodunit, a lovable hero, and a village full of characters worth coming back to. Perfect for fans of Redwall who aren't quite ready for the big books yet.