It's all change, all the time for Timmy Failure. He has fired Total the polar bear from the detective agency, his mother's boyfriend is moving to Chicago, and Timmy is traveling cross-country with Molly Muskins, who may or may not be a criminal mastermind. The trip has interrupted Timmy's latest investigation involving stolen money from a class fund-raiser. But Timmy never has trouble finding dots to connect, and he and Molly go on the run in Chicago in order to solve the case. The observant reader will have already deduced that Timmy's motivation is more than crime fighting; he is avoiding a truth close to home. Timmy, while still taking refuge in the fantasy world of his polar bear and the detective agency, has noticeably grown over the series. In particular, his behavior toward overly affectionate Molly reveals an empathetic side of Timmy, as he observes how her father constantly belittles her. At times laugh-out-loud funny, then disarmingly sweet, Timmy's brand of failure continues to succeed with style. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This new addition to Pastis' best-selling series will get an additional boost from a planned author tour.