Waldo Chicken Wakes the Dead: A Murder Myster of Uncommon Proportions

Rating:
Summary: Laugh yourself to death
Review: A skull has been found. Someone has obviously been murdered. So why are you giggling, chortling and guffawing out loud while drawing disapproving glances from others in the room?

Welcome to the the wacky world of Waldo and the Chicken, and their creator, cartoonist Constable "Connie" O'Toole. In the first of a planned series, Alan Goldsmith lays down the foundation for years of slapstick sleuthing while practically inventing a whole new genre: The laugh-your-a**-off murder mystery.

"Waldo Chicken Wakes the Dead" begins innocently enough. It's no big secret in his Georgia suburb that Connie O'Toole speaks to, argues with and is often humiliated by his own creations, the officious Waldo Walrus and the nervous hen nesting on his head known only as The Chicken. Folks regularly ask Connie to help them recover lost items and pets, a task he accomplishes by conferring with his cantankerous creations. On a day like any other, a neighborhood kid asks him to find Mr. Woo, a male lion in his prime disguised as a house cat, the terror of any four-legged mammal smaller than a Clydesdale and easily capable of having an eagle or two for lunch. Connie accepts the challenge and with the help of his wife Evelyn, they locate the wayward feline and stumble upon evidence of foul play.

Normally, this is where things turn grim, dark and depressing, but not when Connie O'Toole is around. Instead, a memorable cast of characters begin to make their entrances, adding even more quirkiness and hilarity to what should be a grave situation. Yes, someone is dead, but while you're trying to figure it out, Goldsmith bombards your funnybone with a nonstop barrage of one-liners, asides and daffy dialog. Hardly a page will go by without at least a grin and at best, laughter to the verge of tears.

If you want to spare yourself the embarrassment of laughing in public while trying to solve a murder mystery, use the old schooldays trick of hiding "Waldo Chicken Wakes the Dead" inside a decoy book, say, Debbie Farmer's equally hilarious "Don't Put Lipstick On The Cat!", also available from WindRiver Publishing.

Rating:
Summary: Waldo Chicken review
Review: We can only hope that Connie O'Toole and Waldo Chicken will return for more neighborhood sleuthing and chicanery.
Mr. Goldsmith has woven a humorous tale of intrigue and mystery involving an almost endless cast of colorful characters. The many twists and turns were highlighted by a surprise ending.
As a member of the "slightly older than baby boomer" generation, I appreciated the references to characters of my era. Most of the humor in this book, however, is timeless and well-conceived.
Not since Francis The Talking Mule and Harvey The Rabbit have I enjoyed a tale of real and imaginary character to this extent.
Thank goodness Connie and Waldo Chicken survived unscathed to collaborate again.