Encyclopedia Brown and the case of the dead eagles

Encyclopedia and his hard-hitting girl assistant Sally are at it again--putting a stop to Wilfrid Wiggins' con game ("he's so crooked he can hide in the shadow of a wishbone"); doing their bit for ecology by tracking down an eagle poacher; and figuring out why Bugs Meany's offer to give lessons in hypnotizing lobsters is a fraud (does it take a genius to do this?). Some of the solutions are problematical, especially Sally's ability to spot a woman disguised as a man because she takes the seat facing the room at the pizza parlor as etiquette would dictate. It seems that Sobol is trying hard to liberate Sally from her sidekick role but isn't always sure how to go about it. Give him credit for the effort, just as Encyclopedia's fans will give him credit for being consistently right. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.