"Comedian Beckett-King’s sparkling series-starting debut delivers constant laughs and witty rejoinders." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) From a rising stand-up comedian and exciting new talent in children’s fiction comes a brilliantly funny murder mystery series that BBC Radio called “ Knives Out meets Poirot—but for children!” Bonnie Montgomery is the world’s greatest detective. Not that anyone—other than Grampa Banks—has heard of her. But they will have heard of Montgomery Bonbon, the gentleman detective with the bristly mustache, fashionable beret, and accent that’s hard to place. Montgomery Bonbon is responsible for solving many high-stakes crimes, including unmasking the Emmental Bandit, restoring the Rusakova diamonds to their rightful owner, and busting an international owl-smuggling ring, resulting in the arrest of over twelve owls. But now Montgomery Bonbon is needed on a case much closer to home, at the Hornville Museum in Bonnie’s hometown of Widdlington, where a mysterious death has occurred. Don’t look too carefully, however—from certain angles, Montgomery Bonbon looks suspiciously like a ten-year-old girl . . . Brimming with charm and wit, this debut offering from comedian and writer Alasdair Beckett-King and best-selling illustrator Claire Powell is a delightful modern take on the classic whodunit. When dastardly crime goes down, a girl named Bonnie Montgomery slides from view to be replaced by Monsieur Montgomery Bonbon, sleuth extraordinaire! In stories packed with all the smart jokes and groaningly good puns that you’d expect from an award-winning comedian, the great Montgomery Bonbon is soon up to her—I mean his trench-coat collar with clever clues, unreliable witnesses, and suspicious goings-on in this madcap and brilliantly funny debut by Alasdair Beckett-King. —Thomas Taylor, author of the acclaimed Eerie-on-Sea series Alasdair Beckett-King is a award-winning comedian and writer. He studied at the London Film School, and since then he has performed critically lauded solo shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, written for BBC radio, appeared on comedy panel shows such as Mock the Week , cowritten an award-winning video game, and created numerous viral sketches for social media, including an interactive whodunit. Alasdair Beckett-King lives in southeast London. Claire Powell is a best-selling children’s book maker, character designer, and illustrator who started out designing for television brands. She is the illustrator of The Night Before the Night Before Christmas and The Night After Christmas by Kes Gray, The Wizard and Me by Simon Farnaby, and The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln. She has also illustrated books for Jeanne Willis, Peter Bently, and Michelle Robinson. Claire Powell lives in England. Chapter One Bonnie It always seemed to be dusk inside the Hornville Museum. Even in the bright days of summer, it remained chilly and dark—like a fridge dropped down a mineshaft.    The narrow windows were blackened with soot, dating back to the years when Widdlington was a town of coal fires and steam locomotives. Hundreds of glass cabinets looked like they had been cleaned only slightly more recently than the windows. Everywhere, signs read: Strictly No Flash Photography, never-ending twilight, and that was the way they liked it.    Bonnie Montgomery was the youngest person the Hornville had seen in a long time. The museum reminded Bonnie of the discount aisle in the local supermarket, piled high with bizarre bargains that nobody really wanted: cruel weapons, whalebone carvings, strange grinning masks, and some suspiciously cheap lawn furniture. She had been begging Grampa Banks to bring her here for ages, and she was not disappointed.    The museum’s full name was the Hornville Museum of Natural History and Suchlike, and it was supposed to be the oldest building in Widdlington. Bonnie thought this was a pretty funny way to go about things: putting a museum in the middle of nowhere and hoping a town would come along later. But everything about the Hornville was pretty funny, especially the bizarre creatures that loomed over its visitors. She pressed her nose against a glass case in front of her, staring up at a terrible, snarling creature, frozen in the moment of death.    “Did you know they call them Hornville’s Monsters?” she asked Grampa Banks in a hushed museum voice.    Grampa Banks was reading a brochure and noisily eating a lemon drops. He always brought lemon drops when he took Bonnie on a day out, and he always pretended he was not going to let her have one, which they both found hilarious. Grampa Banks was the sort of person who enjoyed museums by plodding methodically from exhibit to exhibit, reading every brass plaque and muttering, “Mmm.”    Bonnie preferred to follow her instincts, darting from case to case whenever something shiny caught her eye. She was never looking for “Mmm.” She was looking for “Aha!” This wa