Art student Dickory Dock -- yes, it's her real name, and, yes, she's heard the nursery rhyme more than enough times -- takes a job as an assistant to a hack artist who likes to don a deerstalker and solve crimes, and who also has a large collection of disguises, some shady associates, and a great big secret.

This is the third of the trio of Ellen Raskin books I bought as a set a while back, and I thought it was the only one of the three I hadn't read as a kid. Apparently I was wrong about that, though, as a few elements here were familiar enough to make me certain I had in fact read it at some point. I think I can kind of see why kid-me found it less memorable than Raskin's other books, though, as adult-me sort of agrees. There is a lot of cleverness here, but much of it strikes me as just a bit too silly. It's also a bit all over the place, as if it's trying to be an over-the-top comedy, and an actual mystery involving false identities and blackmail and genuine emotion, and a commentary of sorts on art and perception all at once, but not entirely succeeding at blending them all together. Then again, it's entirely possible I just wasn't in quite the right mood or the right mindset while reading it. ( )

One of the rare books I read as a child that still holds up today.
Dickory Dock takes an apprenticeship with an eccentric artist by the name of Garson who teaches her to be observant. Garson also takes some cases from the police and as Inspector Noserag and Sergeant Kod, the two help solve these cases. Dickory gets more than she bargained for, though, when a couple of Garson's tenants turn out to be up to no good.
Humorous, engaging, and downright brilliant. Highly recommended. ( )

Art student Dickory takes a part time job as an assistant to a mediocre artist who also acts as a consultant to the New York City Police Department. Dickory quickly finds herself embroiled in solving cases of counterfeiting, blackmail, and murder in between cleaning paintbrushes and doing her art homework.

This is an amazing book with mysteries within mysteries. With all the disguises and hidden identities, almost no one is who they first appear to be. ( )

A volunteer at my school told me about this book, her favorite from childhood, in hopes I could help her come up with its name. Melissa at BAW knew it, I shared it with the volunteer, and life was sweet. What a delight it was to receive this book from Melissa as my un-birthday gift! This was such a great read that I was left feeling bewildered: Why do so many fantastic children’s books go out of print? ( )