REX DEXTERIS ITCHING TO HAVE A DOG. He was practically born to have one. His

name is Rex, for crying out loud. It’s a dog’s name. Any pooch is preferable to no pooch, but

a chocolate Labrador is the pinnacle. The best of the best. The dream of all dreams.

When Rex’s B-Day for Me-Day finally arrives, his parents surprise him with a box. A

box with holes and adorable scratchy noises coming from inside. Could it be? Yes! It has

to be! A … a … chicken? Pet poultry? How clucky.

One hour and fourteen minutes later, the chicken is dead (by steamroller), Rex is

cursed (by the Grim Reaper), and wild animals are haunting Rex’s room (hounding him

for answers). Even his best friend, Darvish, is not going to believe this, and that kid

believes everything.

Rex’s uninvited ghostly guests are a chatty, messy bunch. And they need Rex to solve their

mysterious deadly departures from the Middling Falls Zoo before it happens again. But how?