The Wonderful Baron Doppelgänger Device

Eric Bower, Amberjack Publishing (MARCH) Hardcover $15.99 (237pp) 978-1-944995-51-5

Another wacky adventure with Waldo Baron, better know as W.B., arrives with The Wonderful Baron Doppelgänger Device, in which someone has used W.B.‘S parents’ latest invention to assume his identity.

It’s an exciting time for W.B. An old friend, Shorty, is visiting. W.B. has a new friend, B.W., and his favorite day of the year, the annual Pitchfork Fair, is at hand. His aunt Dorcas has been busy baking delicious pies and tarts to enter the fair competition, and his parents’ assistant Rose Blackwood is trying to bake her own entries, but is failing spectacularly.

Things can never just go smoothly for this clumsy, awkward young hero. Rose’s pie explodes at the fair. She is quickly arrested and imprisoned. When W.B. returns home after being kidnapped, his parents chase him off the estate. Now he must prove Rose’s innocence and reclaim his identity.

This is a wonderful installment in a truly delightful series. Charming characters are full of quirks and oddities, including a father who is far more affectionate to animals than he is to people, an aunt who seems to do nothing but bake and complain, and a friend who is the size of a baby, but who possesses incredible strength.

W.B. is completely endearing as he stumbles through his latest adventure, coming up with new ideas (“brain sneezes,” as he calls them). The story is full of clever twists and turns, and W.B.’S antics are always funny.

Amid its enormous fun, the book sneaks in some important life lessons, such as appreciating what you have and taking care of family. It is memorable and appealing, ensuring it a place of honor on any bookshelf.