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Basil of Baker Street #6
Basil and the Big Cheese Cook-Off
Named one of “13 Detective Book Series You Obsessed Over as a Kid” by Buzzfeed and the inspiration for a hit Disney film, the masterful Great Mouse Detective is back and scurrying off to Paris to discover who’s threatening the organizers of the Great Cheese Cook-off!
Basil the mouse detective is called to Paris when the organizers of the Great Cheese Cook-off (an international culinary competition) start receiving threats against the event. Who could want to deprive all of mousedom of one of its tastiest nights?
Basil immediately suspects Ratigan, who has escaped yet again and was seen lurking around Paris (and who, perhaps, holds a particular grudge against the event’s organizers). He sets off on his investigation at the event’s location, the Parisian College of Cooking (where local foodie mice hide out and take advantage of the school’s kitchens after the human students have departed each evening). But Basil is baffled when circumstantial evidence shows that it couldn’t have been his old enemy after all.
With one suspect crossed off the list, it’s up to Basil to find out what’s going on—before those anony mouse threats ruin the Cook-Off—for good!
Basil the mouse detective is called to Paris when the organizers of the Great Cheese Cook-off (an international culinary competition) start receiving threats against the event. Who could want to deprive all of mousedom of one of its tastiest nights?
Basil immediately suspects Ratigan, who has escaped yet again and was seen lurking around Paris (and who, perhaps, holds a particular grudge against the event’s organizers). He sets off on his investigation at the event’s location, the Parisian College of Cooking (where local foodie mice hide out and take advantage of the school’s kitchens after the human students have departed each evening). But Basil is baffled when circumstantial evidence shows that it couldn’t have been his old enemy after all.
With one suspect crossed off the list, it’s up to Basil to find out what’s going on—before those anony mouse threats ruin the Cook-Off—for good!
96 pages, Hardcover
Published October 23, 2018
12 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Hapka
431 books203 followersCatherine (Cathy) Hapka has written more than one hundred books for children and adults, as a ghostwriter for series as well as original titles, including the Romantic Comedies Something Borrowed, The Twelve Date of Christmas, and Love on Cue. She lives in Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 16, 2024
Basil and Dawson are visiting Paris to investigate threats to the International Cheese Cook-Off competition. Basil thinks that Ratigan must be involved somehow, but they can't find any clues that point in his direction. They meet several suspicious mice, but no one has a motive for threatening the cooking competition. Basil reaches a dead end in his investigation until the final clue from an unlikely source falls into place.
This is one of the books in the series that is written by a different author. The writing so perfectly mimics the original author, that I didn't even notice that the name on the cover was different until I was halfway through the book! This story still has the charm and mystery of the first books in the series.
I love this series so much! I have always been a fan of the Great Mouse Detective cartoon, so I was delighted to discover that the movie was based on a book series. The writing is charming, the story is exciting, and the mystery is full of wild clues that only Basil can figure out. I also loved the adorable illustrations that bring the characters to life.
This chapter book would be perfect for young readers ages 6-10 who are starting to read on their own, but it is also enjoyable for older children to read. I loved reading it even as an adult!
This is one of the books in the series that is written by a different author. The writing so perfectly mimics the original author, that I didn't even notice that the name on the cover was different until I was halfway through the book! This story still has the charm and mystery of the first books in the series.
I love this series so much! I have always been a fan of the Great Mouse Detective cartoon, so I was delighted to discover that the movie was based on a book series. The writing is charming, the story is exciting, and the mystery is full of wild clues that only Basil can figure out. I also loved the adorable illustrations that bring the characters to life.
This chapter book would be perfect for young readers ages 6-10 who are starting to read on their own, but it is also enjoyable for older children to read. I loved reading it even as an adult!
November 21, 2025
Rating: 4 / 5
Unlike the previous mysteries of this series, which focused on 2-3 mysteries apiece--usually, one larger and the other 1-2 as smaller side-quest mysteries--this one focuses on just one big mystery, all centered around the Big Cheese Cook-Off.
We see Basil and Dawson back in their native Europe, though in France, and attending the cook-off as honoured guests of the chef mouse who's hosting it. However, there are mysterious goings-on around the cook-off, both in notes to stop the cookoff and mishaps here and there. Who is responsible?
Why, Ratigan, of course!
The pacing is excellent for this story, and makes the reader crave more than a few cheesey nibbles by the end of it! In fact, it's perfect in all but one thing, and the reason why I'm taking exactly on start off for it: Ratigan's not in it enough. Oh, it's his plot and he's the main villain and whatnot, but for all the buildup I was expecting, Ratigan isn't in this one as much as you'd think. I'm thinking that if ever there was going to be a big confrontation between him and Basil to match the Rachenbach falls episode, it'd be this; but alas, I guess I'll have to wait and read / listen to the next installment instead.
Unlike the previous mysteries of this series, which focused on 2-3 mysteries apiece--usually, one larger and the other 1-2 as smaller side-quest mysteries--this one focuses on just one big mystery, all centered around the Big Cheese Cook-Off.
We see Basil and Dawson back in their native Europe, though in France, and attending the cook-off as honoured guests of the chef mouse who's hosting it. However, there are mysterious goings-on around the cook-off, both in notes to stop the cookoff and mishaps here and there. Who is responsible?
Why, Ratigan, of course!
The pacing is excellent for this story, and makes the reader crave more than a few cheesey nibbles by the end of it! In fact, it's perfect in all but one thing, and the reason why I'm taking exactly on start off for it: Ratigan's not in it enough. Oh, it's his plot and he's the main villain and whatnot, but for all the buildup I was expecting, Ratigan isn't in this one as much as you'd think. I'm thinking that if ever there was going to be a big confrontation between him and Basil to match the Rachenbach falls episode, it'd be this; but alas, I guess I'll have to wait and read / listen to the next installment instead.
June 13, 2021
Great! This Sherlockian-inspired mystery takes place during the year of 1895 at the International Cheese Cook-Off in Paris, France. The competition has received threats and mouse detectives, Basil and Dawson, are on the case.
This book is a well written children's fiction that has a good storyline, entertaining plot twist, and a few illustrations.
The mouse detectives arrive at the cooking school: "...my nose stayed busy, twitching as one delicious scent after another drifted down to mouse level" (kindle p. 12). 🐭 🧀 🥧
This book is a well written children's fiction that has a good storyline, entertaining plot twist, and a few illustrations.
The mouse detectives arrive at the cooking school: "...my nose stayed busy, twitching as one delicious scent after another drifted down to mouse level" (kindle p. 12). 🐭 🧀 🥧
April 23, 2019
A cute series based on the classic character Sherlock Holmes. This short chapter book (87 pages) looks like a good read for early elementary readers, but the word choice, inclusion of French, and setting may make this difficult for young readers.
February 5, 2019
Fun, quick adventure with Basil.
April 28, 2021
I miss the dedications at the start. . . I miss Eve Titus! Simple story, simply done but still with a good twist!
March 14, 2021
You guys! There's new Basil of Baker Street books, and they don't suck!
This is not to say that they're good, mind you. They lean a little heavily on Dawson's interest in cheese, Basil's interest in nothing but Sherlock Holmes, and Ratigan. In addition, these books focus on one case each, whereas the original Titus books had multiple cases as Dawson and Basil travelled aroundbeing unfortunate colonialist caricatures having a good time in various places. Furthermore, Basil is always called in on these cases, as opposed to just tripping over them. And finally, at least in these books, there's at least one relationship or individual that an adult will catch onto fairly quickly, but it isn't the only mystery and there are genuine puzzlers in there.
But they don't suck! They're fun, cute, short original stories that don't pastiche any Holmes stories. Basil and the Big Cheese Cookoff features an annual foodie event in the mouse world, suddenly threatened by anonymous letters!
All in all, not bad, cute, and fun stories. Worth a look for old and new fans alike.
This is not to say that they're good, mind you. They lean a little heavily on Dawson's interest in cheese, Basil's interest in nothing but Sherlock Holmes, and Ratigan. In addition, these books focus on one case each, whereas the original Titus books had multiple cases as Dawson and Basil travelled around
But they don't suck! They're fun, cute, short original stories that don't pastiche any Holmes stories. Basil and the Big Cheese Cookoff features an annual foodie event in the mouse world, suddenly threatened by anonymous letters!
All in all, not bad, cute, and fun stories. Worth a look for old and new fans alike.
November 16, 2019
This is going to sound petty, but I'm a copyeditor at heart and I just can't overlook some details: Eve Titus, who wrote the original Basil series, also wrote books about a French cheese-tasting mouse named Anatole. In a cute little crossover, she made Basil and Antole cousins. To me, it's kind of odd, when you have the choice of writing any sweet little kids' mystery you want, to send Basil to an international cheese cook-off in Paris and not even mention Anatole, his cousin, who lives right there and does exactly that thing! I would understand if they couldn't include him as a character due to not having rights, but the total omission makes me worry that the people in charge of the new run of Basil don't know and love the original series the way I do. Minus one star for making me worry.
And the back cover copy is weirdly both spoiler-y and wrong, so, ???
The ACTUAL BOOK (finally; sorry!) is quite lovely, not perfectly but very much in line with the others in terms of pacing and structure, and I do look forward to the rest.
And the back cover copy is weirdly both spoiler-y and wrong, so, ???
The ACTUAL BOOK (finally; sorry!) is quite lovely, not perfectly but very much in line with the others in terms of pacing and structure, and I do look forward to the rest.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews