Jack Brown and the Trail of the Python, by Greg Pyers

Jack looked outside, to the shrubs and the carpet of ivy in the office garden. He couldn’t see it, and he certainly couldn’t hear it through the glass, but somehow he knew. An animal was out there.

Jack Brown can communicate with animals. Not in a Dr Doolittle way, but he can sense their distress and they can sense his empathy. In this second adventure, Jack Brown and the Trail of the Pytho’, Jack is staying with his cousin Molly and his Uncle Frank in the City Zoo. He sees a python that can’t possibly exist and hears noises in the night. He and Molly investigate but there are many dangerous twists and turns before the mystery is solved.

This adventure is set mostly in a city zoo in Australia. Jack begins to understand his gift. Together he and Molly (a martial arts expert) form a formidable team. Their combined skills help them protect animals from money and power-hungry humans. They make mistakes and take wrong turns but still manage to solve the mystery with little or no help from the professional investigator or other adults around them.

Jack Brown and the Trail of the Python is the second adventure in the Jack Brown series. It reads well as a stand-alone title, but readers might be curious to learn more about Jack’s discovery of his talent. This is a fast-paced adventure with plenty of detail about animals and the inner workings of a zoo. It is sure to appeal to upper primary readers.

Jack Brown and the Trail of the Python, by Greg Pyers
ABC Books 2006
ISBN: 9780733317538