Monday Into the Cave of Thieves (Total Mayhem #1)

3.5

0.0 (0)

360 0

Write Review Add to favorites

Author(s)

Ralph Lazar

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Lisa Swerling

Publisher

Scholastic

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

August 03, 2021

ISBN

978-1-338-77037-7

Buy This Book

New York Times bestselling author Ralph Lazar presents a hilarious action comedy for chapter book readers about Dash Candoo, who must defeat extraordinary foes every school day. For Dash Candoo, every day is... DANGEROUS! There is no such thing as a boring day for Dash Candoo. On Monday, before he can even enjoy his cereal and wombat juice, he is attacked by a squad of combat-ready scallywags and the two-tailed Devil Cat. And that is just before breakfast. The adventure explodes when Dash gets to school and must deal with a number of Total Mayhem Situations, including a missing Wobble-Ball trophy and the disappearance of one of the most expensive bottles of perfume in the world.

There is no such thing as a boring day for Dash Candoo.

On Monday, before he can even enjoy his cereal and wombat juice, he is attacked by a squad of combat-ready scallywags and the two-tailed Devil Cat.

And that is just before breakfast. The adventure explodes when Dash gets to school and must deal with a number of Total Mayhem Situations, including a missing Wobble-Ball trophy and the disappearance of one of the most expensive bottles of perfume in the world.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

A fast-paced zany adventure-mystery for young readers.

September 08, 2021 (Updated: July 04, 2026)

Overall rating

3.5

Plot

3.0

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

What I liked:
A zany adventure- mystery, set at a fast pace, that will entertain young readers.
The main character and narrator is Dash, as he speaks directly to readers about his thoughts, plans, and feelings. He wields all kinds of amazing weapons and tools and always carries his KB-15 to warn him of imminent danger. He has tunnels below many of his classrooms in order to travel outside the school, and he even has a warp-vortex to transport himself to the enemy’s doorstep. Dash’s favorite class is Paper Airplanes, which is evidence that his school is unusual. Dash still finds time to skip out from most classes in order to do his heroic deeds.
The enemy is comprised of the Devil-Cat and ninjalike warriors called Wrestle-Scallywags. The Wrestle-Scallywags attack in synchronized movements that are numbered. Move #6694 forms a tower that is very dangerous in 3-on-1 situations. The Devil-Cat is able to become invisible and uses this ability to steal objects from around the school. The uncertainty of why it wants the objects and who is in charge of the evil plans creates the mystery of the story.
In the book’s early pages, it notifies readers of an Almanac found at the back that explains all of the unusual terms found in the story. This is helpful since many books don’t identify when they contain glossaries. The story doesn’t provide context to decode strange terms, so the Almanac is very useful. What left me wanting more:
Because the story moves so quickly, the book leaves unanswered questions. Is Dash part of an organization, because the book never shares where he gets all of his gadgets. He isn’t overly intelligent, so it seems unlikely that he invents them himself. He had faced the Wrestle-Scallywags 345 times before, but it isn’t clear why he was the one doing it. What is going on beyond the school?
Final thoughts:
The book is categorized with middle-grade books, but it’s more appropriate for elementary readers. The print size, story length, plot, and pictures are more comparable to the series about Captain Underpants.
It successfully creates a humorous adventure mystery that will be enjoyed by lovers of wacky villains and quirky heroes.