Chet Gecko loves a good mystery. Almost more than he loves his fee—stinkbug pie. So when fellow fourth grader Shirley Chameleon asks him to find her missing brother, Billy, Chet expects the case to be as easy a pie. But Billy's disappearance is part of a larger plot, one that involves the Rat Sisters, a riddling junkyard dog, and a vicious Gila monster named Herman. If Chet doesn't solve the case fast, the entire school could be humiliated. Worst of all, Chet might not get his fee. And Chet's hungry. . . .

Chet Gecko is hired by Principal Zero to investigate the disappearance of valuable items from Emerson Hicky Elementary--including Mama Gecko's pearls.

Most folks know him as the best lizard detective at Emerson Hicky Elementary, but it's not all knuckles and know-how with Chet Gecko. He's also got his artistic side. If it wasn't for his art, he might never have been sent to Principal Zero's office, where he stumbled onto the mystery of Mr. Nice. Because whatever you can say about Principal Zero, one thing is certain: He is not nice. Until now. Chet knows something is wrong with this picture, and he's just the gecko to solve this mystery. After all, who do you think put the art in smart aleck?

Someone is turning the students at Emerson Hickey Elementary into zombies, and it's up to fourth-grade private eye Chet Gecko to find out who.

Chet Gecko’s investigations often show him the seamy underbelly of school life, but this case throws him for a loop. A deadly stink bomb is unleashed, a school building falls to rubble, money goes missing from the principal’s office, and that’s just a start. Chet’s endurance for trouble is tested, but so is his loyalty: Someone is trying to get his mongoose janitor pal Maureen DeBree fired. A true-blue P.I. doesn’t take that kind of monkey business lying down. Standing up, maybe. And stand up he will—to some very shifty school bullies. Chet keeps digging for the truth like a mole after an earthworm sandwich. Oh, foolish detective.

What do you do when your favorite teacher starts turning into a were-hyena? a) Flee in terror? b) Try to cure him? c) Bring him carrion snacks? Mr. Chu, the coolest teacher ever, has developed some very unusual habits, like laughing hysterically for no reason, sniffing people's homework, and chasing chickens. When best friends Carlos and Benny decide to find out what's happening to him, they get caught up in some moonlight madness. And it looks like just the beginning of the weirdness that has arrived in the town of Monterrosa. . . . This first entry in a silly, sassy, and suspenseful new series will leave readers howling with laughter.

Giffin's smash-hit debut novel--basis for the 2011 film--is for every woman who has ever had a complicated love-hate friendship.