The Bolds

April 22, 2013
In his winning debut novelâwhich takes its title from a variety of roseâDowling plunges us into Australia's seedy racetrack underworld and the life of Steele Hill, an amiable young dropout who lives by the dole and his wits. Through adept plotting and juggling of time, Dowling gradually reveals Steele's immersion in daffy intrigues that create suspicions in crusty cops Frank Mooney and Bill Schmidt. Willing to fight injustice, Steele uses his street smarts to survive as the complications and bodies mount up, and he and a reclusive teen mathematical genius plot to drug a racehorse at the behest of an expatriate Russian trainer. While the narrative is at times confusing, readers will appreciate the author's ability to render colorful characters and understated witty prose.

December 21, 2015
In this humorously off-kilter tall tale, British comic Clary’s first book for children, a pair of hyenas take on the identity of two British honeymooners eaten by crocodiles while on safari. The hyenas hide their tails in human clothes and their ears under hats, adapting so well to their new lives that they raise their cubs to fit in as humans, too. “It is true to say that people in Teddington considered them to be an unusual couple,” notes the chatty narrator. “But no one jumped to the conclusion that they were a pair of hyenas.” Because the family laughs and kids around so much, they make friends easily and even share their secret with one trusted human. Their grumpy, spying neighbor is trouble, however, and when a hyena at a nearby safari park needs rescuing, the Bolds’ plan to free him could mean blowing their cover. Roberts’s manically expressive b&w illustrations capitalize on the unapologetically silly premise (Mrs. Bold is a real style icon in oversize glasses, a turban, and a dress with the silhouette of a lampshade) as Clary mixes animal fact with imaginative, entertaining fiction. Ages 8–12.