Hermux Tantamoq returns to solve another mystery, this time involving the irascible showman Fluster Varmint. Fans of this mouse detective will find NTLST to be the best to date, with healthy does of slapstick mixed with sly wit. (M) Hoeye's style and humor are reminiscent of E. B White and A. A. Milne.

'No Time Like Show Time' is the third adventure of watchmaker and mouse, Hermux Tantamoq. Hermux is called to the Varmint Theatre (to install alarm clocks in the dressing rooms), but soon finds himself roped into designing the stage set and solving a baffling murder mystery.

As in previous volumes, the plot is engaging and the writing witty. Favourite characters from the first two books, (like aviatrix Linka Perflinger and beauty-product megalomaniac Tucka Mertslin), make a welcome return - and we meet a whole cast of colourful newcomers: Fluster Varmint the theatre manager, Nurella Pinch a mysterious aging film star, and a very peculiar ventriloquist. Hermux's pet ladybug, Terfle, also takes a starring role in the plot - and the touching relationship between mouse and bug is as charming as always.

This is perhaps my favourite book of the three - but it also has to be said that some of the plotlines might perhaps be rather 'grown-up' for the very youngest: murder, love triangles, an unwed pregnancy, an abandoned single parent ... all softened under mouse-fur and whiskers, but there none-the-less. Such themes are commonplace in contemporary teen fiction, but surprising in anthropomorphic bedtime stories for the under nines - and at times seemed a little surreal. In all probability it'll go over the heads of most youngsters, and it didn't bother me - but some parents might want to read the story through first.

First things first, this book certaintaly mesures up to its sequels.So don't be worried about that.In the book Hermux's shyness for telling Linka his feelings about her is a conflict, especially since another mouse is making the move on Linka.Tucka has set her sights on the Varimount theater. Hurmux's is working against her with a whole new cast of characters. All in all, you should read this book. Trust me,it won't let you down.