Everyone knows that New York is also called the Big Apple. But for Timothy Malt, the main character of the story, New York is sausage city. Why? That’s a good question and you will soon find out the answer...
Timothy (or Tim, for short) is from London, England. He goes to New York for a short holiday: “In the afternoon, a Boeing 747 had eased out of the blue sky and roared along the Atlantic coast of the USA. It flew down the length of Long Island, landed at JFK and disgorged two hundred and twenty-one passengers. (...) But we are not interested in any of them. (...) We are only interested in six of the passengers on that 747. Two adults, three children and one dog. Their names were Mr. Malt, Mrs. Malt, Timothy Malt, Max Raffifi, Natascha Raffifi and Grk.” (page 8) Tim thinks that this holiday will be an ordinary one. But he’s wrong...
One day, he goes to the grand opening of the new Slavic Art exhibition at the National Museum. The director of the National Museum tells the guests that this is a historic event because the public will have the chance to see the Golden Dachshund, a magnificent work of art. King Jovan and Queen Rose of Stanislavia tell everyone that many people wanted to buy this priceless golden statue. A sausage salesman has even offered them ten million dollars! But King Jovan and Queen Rose have said “no” to everyone. Now, they’re proud to say that the Golden Dachshund will be on display for one month at the National Museum.
Tim, Max, Natascha and Grk go to the golden statue to see it. On the way, Grk finds a frankfurter and eats it. The kids don’t know how Grk found a frankfurter in the middle of the museum... But they soon find out: “... two people pushed through the crowd and stood beside the statue of the Golden Dachshund. “Sausage salesman,” said one of the people in a low, angry voice. He was an overweight man with a red face and an angry voice. “Can you believe it? Sausage salesman. How dare he call me a sausage salesman!” “Don’t worry about him,” said the other person. (...) “You’ll get your revenge soon enough.” “I certainly will.” The large man chuckled. (...) After a few seconds of silence, the fat man turned to the thin man and said, “You sure you can do it?” “Of course I can do it,” said the thin man. “When are you going to do it?” “It’s probably better if you don’t know.” “Yeah, whatever,” said the fat man. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two frankfurters wrapped in white paper. As he popped one of them into his mouth, the other dropped to the floor.” (pages 16-17) Yes, the frankfurter that Grk found has fallen from the fat man. But who is this strange man after all? He seems to be the sausage salesman who wanted to buy the golden statue for ten million dollars. But why does the thin man say, “You’ll get your revenge soon enough.”? Tim, Max and Natascha are curious and a bit worried. What if something is going to happen to the Golden Dachshund? This is the question that pops in the kids’ mind. Soon, the children find out the answer: the statue is stolen!
No one knows who stole it. But Tim has a suspect: the sausage salesman. He wants to solve out the mystery, but he has to go back to London... When he gets to the airport, Tim tells his mother that he has to go to the bathroom with Grk. Mom tells him to be quick because they have to board soon. Tim and Grk leave, but they don’t go to the bathroom... They go back to New York, all by themselves, to solve the case!
Tim and Grk have a lot of adventures in New York. The two of them even make new friends: a policeman called Andy Kielbasinski and an actress called Smith (yes, I know it’s a strange name for a woman, but don’t ask me why she is called like that). The boy finds out the name of the sausage salesman: Doctor Wiener. This man has a big hot dog factory in Brooklyn. Tim follows a hot dog van right to the factory. There, Doctor Wiener catches him. The boy is about to be killed! Luckily, Smith saves him.
Tim finds out something quite interesting from Doctor Wiener: “And why did you want the statue? To add to your art collection?” Doctor Wiener smiled. A small, vicious smile with no trace of amusement or friendship. “You are well-informed, aren’t you? How do you know about my art collection?” “Oh, I know a lot,” said Tim. “You collect paintings of dachshunds, don’t you?” “Not just paintings of dachshunds,” said Doctor Wiener. “Sculptures of dachshunds. Pottery with dachshund decoration. Even a set of nineteenth-century silver knives with dachshunds carved on the handles. I have the finest collection of dachshund art in the country. Probably in the entire world.” (page 125)
Tim and Smith want to catch Doctor Wiener somehow... Luckily, Tim comes out with a brilliant plan. This is my favorite part of the story: Tim, Grk and Smith disguise themselves and enter Doctor Wiener’s factory. Here’s what they’re doing:
“The woman, the dwarf and the poodle walked slowly across the yard, accompanied by one of the security guards. (...) Doctor Wiener was waiting for them in his office. (...) Doctor Wiener dismissed the security guard and peered curiously at his guests. He had the odd sense that he had seen them somewhere before. But he couldn’t remember where or when. He said, “Have we met before?” “I think not,” said the woman in her strong German accent. (...) “Please, let me introduce myself. My name is Countess Sonja von Dachswagen.” “Never heard of you, honey,” said Doctor Wiener. “What are you, German?” “I am Austrian.” She patted the dwarf on his head. “This is Hans. My dwarf.” “Guten Morgen,” said Hans. (...) “Wunderbar,” sighed the Countess. (...) “Might it be possible to see this magnificent collection of dachshund art?” (pages 179-181)
After a moment of hesitation, Doctor Wiener takes the Countess/Smith, Hans/Tim and the poodle/Grk in his dachshund art museum. In the meantime, the Countess gets a call from someone. She hands her phone to Doctor Wiener, telling him that the call is supposed to be for him: “Hello, Doctor Wiener,” said the police on the other of the phone. “This is the New York Police Department.” (...) “My name is Andy Kielbasinski. I’m waiting at the gates of your factory. I would be grateful if you’d come and meet me here.” “I’m busy right now,” said Doctor Wiener. “You’re soon going to be a lot busier.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “I have your confession on tape,” said Andy Kielbasinski. “I think you’d better come down to the precinct and discuss it with me.” Back in the museum, Doctor Wiener was getting angry. His face was bright red. His fingers were clenched tightly round the phone. He said, “My confession? What confession? What are you talking about?” “For the last thirty minutes, I have recorded every word that you have said,” replied Andy Kielbasinski. “You might as well come quietly, Doctor Wiener. You’ve told the New York Police Department exactly what we need to know about the theft of the Golden Dachshund.” (pages 189-190)
Doctor Wiener finally realizes that he has been tricked by Smith, Tim and Grk. He’s caught by the police and the Golden Dachshund is returned to the National Museum. I like this part of the story because Tim’s brilliant plan solves the case and everything turns out fine! I also like the fact that Smith acts really good as Countess Sonja von Dachswagen. She is a good actress, I have to admit it... :)
Tim returns to his family (who has been worried sick about him). All the characters from the story gather together and celebrate Tim’s success. Well, I should say “Tim and Grk’s success”. Tim and Grk are best friends, right? They do everything together! Even though Grk hasn’t done VERY important things during the story, he’s still the happiest (and the hottest) dog in the world (at least that’s what the ending says)! :)
I would recommend this book to anyone... who has a dog! Maybe they would like the story more, I don’t know... Even though I haven’t got a dog, I still give the book five stars! The idea is very good: Tim thinks New York is sausage city just because there is a villain here who has a hot dog factory and a dachshund art museum (you know that dachshunds look like sausages). Genius! :)
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