Nick and Marta set out to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Mrs. Starch, the most feared teacher at Truman School, and in the process expose a crooked oil-drilling operation.

Mrs. Starch takes her biology students on a field trip to Black Vine Swamp, but the smell of fire cuts their trip short. The students return to school, but Mrs. Starch isn’t with them. There are rumors regarding her disappearance, but the school principal only says that she is away on a “family emergency.” The police think that Smoke, the school delinquent, is responsible, but Nick and Marta don’t buy it. They set out to solve the mystery by going to Mrs. Starch’s home on Buzzard Lane where they encounter an eccentric man who claims to be Bunny Starch’s nephew. He leads them on a journey back into the swamp where they make a surprising discovery . . . Mrs. Starch and Smoke, two unlikely soul mates, on a mission to reunite a baby panther with its mother. But, there is still a missing piece to the puzzle: Who set the fire, and why? (Source)

Author: Carl Hiaasen

Author Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in Florida, where he still lives. He is a prize-winning journalist with a regular column in the Miami Herald and many articles in varied magazines. He started writing crime fiction in the early 1980s and has recently branched out into children’s books; he has also had several works of non-fiction published.