Tank & Fizz – The Case of Firebane’s Folly

Liam O'Donnell's The Case of Firebane's Folly is a monster detective story for 8 year olds in which a school trip goes very, VERY wrong.

What happens

Fizz Marlow is a goblin in fourth grade who solves mysteries (and talks like a detective in an old film). His best friend Tank is a troll who never goes anywhere without her tool belt. This is their fourth case.

The whole class is off on an overnight trip to see some glowing mushrooms. Fizz nearly misses the bus. The usual driver is off sick, and the stand-in is an ogre with a stare like a hatchet.

Then Tank's phone map shows the bus heading the wrong way. Straight towards the Dark Depths, the most dangerous place in the whole mountain.

Before long the bus is stuck in a giant web, the driver has zoomed off on a rocket bike and the entire class is dangling in the spider queen's lair, wrapped up like sausages. She thinks they've stolen her precious Crown of Peace.

So she makes Fizz and Tank a deal. Find the real thief, or their classmates are dinner. (Thanks for that, Rizzo, who tells her they're detectives.)

What follows is a proper quest. There's a stinking swamp, a gang of fish-headed lagalanders who think goblin sounds tasty, and a young spider called Hugo who decides to help.

Fizz's voice is the star, as always. His tail tingles when he's onto something. He'd rather be eating choco-slug cookies. And the grown-ups are brilliant fun. The tiny fairy gym teacher doesn't want anyone eaten on the trip because of all the paperwork!

There's a lovely thread about grown-ups not listening to children, too. Hugo says nobody in his world believes young monsters either. Who hasn't felt like that?

It's a bit creepier than a mystery set at school. There's a pile of bones in the corner of the spider queen's lair and a real threat hanging over the whole class. It stays jokey all the way through, though, and most readers will be having far too much fun to worry.

What to read next

If they want another case with the same two detectives, try The Case of the Tentacle Terror. Cargo ships start vanishing from the harbour, and the monster getting the blame is Tank's mum.