Full of charm and quirkiness, with characters to both love and loathe, M.G. Leonard creates a tale of mystery, adventure and beetles with a side order of slapstick that just cries out for one more chapter, which is how I finished it in a day!

The settings she creates from the depths of the Natural History Museum, to the Furniture Forest and Beetle Mountain provide the perfect backdrop for Darkus, Bertolt, Virginia, Uncle Max and the Beetles to outsmart Humphrey, Pickering and Lucretia Cutter (my favourite book baddy since Cruella de Vil).

My first thought on finishing the book was “I just hope Novak is going to be alright, she deserves her happy ending.” I’ll have to wait for the sequel, Beetle Queen, to find out. Although I have to say, this has me even more worried…

The Entomologists Dictionary at the end was a lovely finishing touch to a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging book. Really looking forward to getting this on my bookshelf at school, and seeing what the children think.

Great for fans of Roald Dahl, mystery, humour and Beetles.