The Great Vandal Scandal

The Great Pet Heist #3

by Emily Ecton, David Mottram (Illustrator)

The Secret Life of Pets meets Spy School as furry friends come out of retirement to do some secret spy work sure to inspire “chuckles aplenty” ( Kirkus Reviews ) in this hilarious companion to The Great Pet Heist and The Great Ghost Hoax .

Big plans are afoot! Butterbean is going to become a therapist (unless maybe she means a therapy dog?). The white cat is going to do a commercial for caviar-flavored pet treats. And Wallace is moving into a great new apartment. But these plans don’t include a group of rowdy raccoons taking over the loading dock and throwing the building into turmoil.

Now residents from the whole building are coming to the Strathmore Seven for help—from Second Floor Biscuit, a Yorkie with an unfortunate haircut who faces eviction for barking at the intruders, to the loading dock rats, who are feeling intimidated and upset. And even worse, Madison gets blamed for the vandalism! It’s up to Butterbean and the rest of the pets to stop the raccoons and restore their friend’s reputation—before it’s too late.

Genres: Animals, Middle Grade, Humor, Audiobook, Fantasy, Childrens

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 11, 2023

About the author

Emily Ecton is a former writer and producer for Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!, the NPR news quiz. She has also been a playwright, a chinchilla wrangler, an ice cream scooper and a costume character. After years of living in Chicago, she now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with her dog, Binky.

Also writes under the name Emily Fairlie

Reviews

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 4 out of 5]

The animals are ready to move on and focus on their individual goals and careers. Their times of the heist and their ghost busting adventures are now very much behind them. For example, Butterbean is pretty enthusiastic about becoming a therapist. Even though the other animals try to explain to her that she’s just going to be a therapy dog, it can’t shake her enthusiasm.

But something’s amiss. A dog is about to be kicked out of the apartment for barking all the time. But nobody knows why he’s barking so much to begin with. He never did that before. So why’s he barking all the time now? The animals decide to investigate, hoping to save the dog from getting evicted. The animals will come together again, teaming up for a spy mission for the ages. So justice can prevail once more.


All the animals get their chance to shine, though it’s the dogs who are the absolute stars of this book. Butterbean is hilarious because she really wants to become a good therapist. Biscuit, the adorable little dog who just wants to protect his owner from the invaders, will quickly make your heart melt. And the antagonistic invaders more than serve their role well.


Overall, another really fun adventure in a series that keeps finding new ways for these beloved characters to entertain us.

[Christina Ensling · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great Vandal Scandal is the 3rd book in the series about eccentric pets who band together to try and help humans and fellow animals alike, all while going on zany adventures. The 1st book, "The Great Pet Heist" introduced the large group of main characters/animals. In that story the pets attempt to steal gold coins in order to help their owner, Mrs. Food pay for their care. In the 2nd book, "The Great Ghost Heist" the pets try and help another tenant by proving that there is no supernatural presence in her apartment. In "The Great Vandal Scandal" the animals try and save the reputation of one of their favorite humans, Madison, who has been accused of vandalizing items in a storage area. The pets go on a secret undercover spy mission to prove her innocence, and rid the apartment building of the real masked bandits. My favorite character is Butterbean, the irrepressible dog, who thinks she is soon to become a "therapist". I highly recommend this middle grade book, and the whole series to anyone looking for a story that is funny and heart-felt.

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very cute book. You can’t go wrong with animals that want to investigate a mystery. I love that there are so many different animals that come together and use their individual talents to help solve the problem. Why an octopus lives in the building I don’t know but their door opening skills are paramount. Kids are just going to fall in love with all the different personalities. Butterbean wanting to become a therapist is just too cute and the fact that her therapy skills play such a big role in the story just makes it even more cute. The only thing I could say is that since I had never read another adventure in this series, more introduction to the animals and their names might have been helpful, but overall I know that this is a book kids will love.
Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

[Cress · Rating 5 out of 5]

I literally love everyone in this book whether it's an animal or a human except Mrs. Hates Dogs on Six. She's an ass.

[Benjamin]

How? Another bedtime audiobook with the kiddo

What? In book 1, the animals want to pull of a heist to stick together, out of the shelter, and end up catching actual criminals; in book 2, the animals help foil a ghostbuster scam; in book 3, raccoons are invading their condo building AND one of their humans is being blamed for the damage.

Yeah, so? Another fun book in the series. There's one joke here -- not so bright dog Butterbean keeps thinking she's going to be a therapist (as seen on tv, with couch) rather than a therapy dog -- that's really nicely done structurally; and there's moments where the raccoons are pretty menacing (but not actually that scary) that I think nicely walks the line for younger readers. The next book in the series is not out yet, so we've gotta wait a bit.

(Also, as I missed some of the book, I was relistening on my own time; so when I drove kiddo to a walk yesterday, this started to play on my car and he wanted to listen to it again, so that's another vote for it.)

[H.R.H. Carpathia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy these books. They bring back childhood memories. Who can turn down animals sneaking around without the knowledge of their humans. In this book the gang gets involved with invaders in the apartment storage room and humor ensues from there. We get a whole lot more Oscar in this book too compared to Ghost Hoax. Really, all of the characters appear in even amounts here though Butterbean is at the center with her silliness. Also, we see the return of the white cat. I think it is very funny that she is simply called the white cat or cat when we have an Octopus named Chad and multiple Biscuits. The white cat is probably my favorite character. I love the dynamic between her and the main cast. Really, if this ever becomes a TV or movie adaptation I would love to fulfill my childhood dream of voice acting and voice the white cat. I will certainly continue to read these book!

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is yet another mystery to solve at the Strathmore building. Second Floor Biscuit ended up with bangs at his last grooming appointment and he won't stop growling and barking at the window. He claims there are invaders on the Loading Dock -- not the usual rat suspects. Something worse. . . Our favorite pets maneuver their way down to the basement and discover there are raccoons plundering the storage lockers. When their favorite teenager Madison gets the blame, it's a full-on rescue operation. The mysterious white cat even pitches in. Love Butterbean's aspirations to actually do therapy and the white cat's director dreams. Lots of funny pet situations and a happy ending, too.

[Educator · Rating 5 out of 5]

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974


The gangs all here. We have another adventure and attempts to save friends and their way of life. Butterbean to the rescue. New to the building are the raccoons. The interactions between the characters we love and the racoons are a hoot. A quick one sitting read that kids and adults alike will love. Also enjoyed the art sprinkled here and there. I hope we have books with the crew.

[Lauren Kramer-Theuerkauf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ecton’s books keep getting better and better! I absolutely love the third installment in The Great Pet Heist series! Our favorite apartment pets are once again called to solve a mystery that puts their favorite human resident in danger.

This book had me laughing from beginning to end. Ecton’s comedic timing is genius. Introducing hilarious new characters, this book is sure to delight young and old readers alike!

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

#TheGreatVandalScandal
#NetGalley
A wonderful series for children and parents. The storylines are fun and full of adventure for kids.

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secret live of pets meets a cute mystery book! Loved it!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightfully entertaining. Works even though I haven’t read the previous books.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook

This is such a cute series! Audiobooks are done very well!

[Allison Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids and I love this series! Butterbean is so funny. We can't wait for the next installment!

[Gillian McDermott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third installment of this series is delightful. The huge cast of characters will put anyone reading this aloud to the test.

[Talie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took some dark turns but still so much fun. Good focus on other pets. Walt was pretty backstage on this one.

[Jill CD · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are very few series where I can say I liked each book, this is one of them. Kids will love the characters, adventures, and mystery wrapped in humor. A fun read for everyone!

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked when the raccoons were so funny doing dancing. It was a good mystery.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun addition to the Great Pet Heist series!

Mentioned in Ultimate MG Bundle

[S Tondra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this series! I haven't missed a book yet in this series because it is cute and kids will love the characters and the mystery. New to the series are the trash pandas, oh I mean raccoons and it is great!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.