Kirkus Reviews QR Code
THE CLOCK WITHOUT A FACE by Mac Barnett

THE CLOCK WITHOUT A FACE

by Mac Barnett & Eli Horowitz & illustrated by Scott Teplin with Adam Rex

Pub Date: May 15th, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-934781-71-5
Publisher: Time Warner UK/Trafalgar

Hours of fun for sharp-eyed puzzle fans. Painted on oversized cardboard pages trimmed to a peaked top, the arrangements and finely detailed contents of 13 apartments seen in canted cutaway views (purportedly) contain hidden leads to real concealed treasure. In the rudimentary plot, detective Roy Dodge and his bumbling “Watson,” Augustus Twintig, are hired by wealthy collector Bevel Ternky to investigate the disappearance of an antique clock’s 12 emerald-studded numbers. The detectives pay brief calls on each of the apartment house’s residents—who sport monikers like P.K. Quello or Jigsy Squonk and live in wildly differing digs—before gathering everyone for the obligatory denouement. Rex adds spot-art caricature portraits of all but Twintig, and jewelry designer Anna Sheffield created the physical numbers themselves, which are buried in “holes strewn across the country.” For those who can’t bestir themselves to join the nationwide hunt, bulletins will be posted on an associated website. Good luck. (Novelty. 10-15, adult)