The Case of the Roving Rolls

The fourth book in the series is perhaps the most colorful with all the Royalty and foreigners from a made-up country, and a British chauffeur who drives a bright white antique Rolls Royce. The theme behind this novel—a king who has died, and his son unable to take his rightful place on the throne because of certain villainous types—will be familiar to anyone who has read Enid Blyton's The Circus of Adventure and The Secret of Spiggy Holes, and others.

The difference here is that the prince is not a prisoner locked in a tower but a college student in England. However, he is unable to return to his home country of Kassabeba because of his nasty uncle, Ras-Bey, who has ruled with an iron hand ever since the old Emir's death. All the while, the young Prince Halam has been at college in England, and is to continue his education in America—at Crestwood College, in Brains and Jimmy's neck of the woods. Jimmy learns all this from a letter he receives from his Uncle Ed, who is a pilot and stationed in Kassabeba; he used to work directly for the Emir. All this connection between Jimmy's Uncle Ed and the Kassabeban Emir, and Prince Halam coming to Crestwood College, is a bit much to swallow, but once you force it down the novel is a very enjoyable read.

Just why exactly has Ras-Bey sent two of his evil henchmen to America? What are they after? Uncle Ed feels sure Ras-Bey wouldn't be so stupid as to harm the prince, even though the coronation is coming up soon. All Ras-Bey needs to do in order to stay on the throne is to keep the prince out of Kassabeba until after the coronation. So what is he doing, sending men to Crestwood to snoop about?

And what exactly has the white Rolls Royce got to do with this? It transpires that some of the afore-mentioned coincidence is not so much of a coincidence after all. A very well-to-do gentleman by the name of Mr Willoughby had grown up in Crestwood, and had discovered Kassabeba to be soaked in oil; he had helped the old Emir to develop the country into one of the richest oil countries in the world. Mr Willoughby had long since passed on, but his wife continued to travel back and forth to Europe, and right now was residing at her estate in Crestwood. Being great friends with the old Emir, it's therefore no surprise that Crestwood College was chosen for Prince Halam's further education. And here the connection to the Rolls Royce comes into play, for it once belonged to the old Emir, who left it to Mrs Willoughby in his will... so the car was shipped to the USA six or seven months prior.

A lot of history to take in, but it all comes across perfectly naturally in the book. Frothingham, the British chauffeur who drives the Rolls, is a character unto himself; I had particular fun reading about Jimmy's confusion with Froth's British words, such as callng the trunk a boot, the hood a bonnet, and so on. The "Roving Rolls" of the title comes from the scene where the car is stolen and nearly runs over Jimmy as it runs down a hill—seemingly with no driver, and with Frothingham in hot pursuit on his bike, and Brains following close behind (see book cover). But what driverless car can turn a sharp corner at the bottom and drive off? Brains figures it out, of course. In another scene, the Rolls is seen in town jumping a red light—and running someone down in a hit-and-run! Frothingham is arrested, and Brains and Jimmy must do all they can to clear his name.

But was has all this to do with a coronation? The link is very clear, once it comes to light—all to do with a missing golden vial that must be present at the coronation in a few days' time. In theory, if the vial turns up the prince can go home and take his rightful place on the throne—but without it the coronation is a farce. Does Ras-Bey have it? Or does he believe it to be hidden within the Rolls Royce, which after all once belonged to the old Emir? It would appear so, but neither the villains nor the young detectives can find it...

Much as I liked this book, possibly it's the least favorite of the four I've read so far. But that's really only the case if I was pushed to put them in order of preference. Overall it seems there is no bad book in this series; each is as involved and intriguing as the other, and each has its own set of surprises and sometimes wacky scenes. Brains proves his nerdiness once and for all by pointing out that the technical word for a long-faced person is "dolichocephalic" (horse-faced), while a person with a moon-shaped face is "brachycephalic"; I love it!

Keith Robinson
September 24, 2006