Samantha Cooper is missing and her boyfriend is desperate to find her. Desperate enough to hire Gertrude, Gumshoe. Thrilled to have her first real client, Gertrude gets right to work. But is she really ready for a real case? Can she catch a kidnapper without getting herself kidnapped?

There just isn't enough crime in Mattawooptock, so Gertrude has to convince Calvin to go to the big city--Portland, where she will go undercover as the newest slam poet on the scene. But have any actual crimes been committed, or is this just Gertrude's wild imagination at work?

Gertrude's never been so busy. There's been a murder at a Wild West theme park, and Gertrude is on the scene. But she can't stay long, because there's been another murder in Mattawoopock. To complicate matters, Deputy Hale has lost his patience with he eccentric sleuthing. Can she avoid his handcuffs long enough to solve a murder? Or two?