Review Detail

Platypus Police Squad: Last Panda Standing

Middle Grade Fiction 199

My dog was right-- Squirrels are a HUGE danger!

June 02, 2015 (Updated: June 12, 2026)

Overall rating

4.5

Plot

4.0

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Frank Pandini, having recovered from both The Frog Who Croaked and The Ostrich Conspiracy, is back and running for mayor of Kalamazoo City. When he is attacked with a boomerang by a flying squirrel while giving a speech, Rick Zengo is assigned to watch him. After Pandini outlines his campaign for a nut free city, Rick thinks he knows who is behind the attacks; the squirrels at Nutter's Nuts. Also under suspicion-- McGovern, who is running against Pandini, whose life might be more entwined with the opposing candidate than the people of Kalamazoo might imagine. O'Malley must investigate leads with the new member of the force, Jo Cooper. There's lots of tasty hotdogs and cocoa, but the squirrel threat must be neutralized.

Good Points

The mysteries in this series are rather clever, but I'm glad that the film noir device isn't used as heavily in this one. Pandini is actually a very complex character; I'm still not quite sure whether he is good or evil, and that always makes for a more interesting story. In fact, most of the characters are a lot deeper than one would expect. Krosoczka manages to pack a lot into a deceptively simple book, which gives this layers of interest. Adults will find different things to be funny, and younger readers will pick it up for the pictures, but everyone will be amused!