I picked Detective this time around in honor of the Overlook Press reprints. (I've done Florida already.) Before I go on to my discussion, let me say that it's way cool to have a Freddy book in mint condition with dust jacket. The closest I've come to even seeing such a book are the 1986 reprints with the appalling covers and a couple of spiffy GLBs. (Incidentally, the copy I actually read was an old grubby one and not the Overlook version. I'm almost afraid to touch than one.) But on to our story.
Someday I'm going to make a chart of all the continuity elements and when they crop up: the animals from Florida continue throughout; Politician gives us the First Animal Republic and the First Animal Bank; the Horribles pop up in Cowboy and stay with us; and so on.
Freddy the Detective has a couple of distinctions in this respect, the main one being that this is the first one in which Freddy is clearly the leading character. It seems to be on the main "track" of the Freddy books, while the two following (Freginald and Clockwork Twin) are more like detours. The justice system that appears here, though it does not return in later books, is a foreshadowing of the complete government that is established with the F.A.R. a bit later on. And, if you don't count the paint job in Florida, this is the first time Freddy puts on a disguise. The main true continuity element, though, is the introduction of those classic villains, Simon and his family of rats.
To recap, Freddy is inspired by reading Sherlock Holmes to practice being a detective. When Everett's toy train goes missing, he is on his first case and does an admirable job. Finding Egbert the rabbit is more of a mixed case (he finds Egbert and sends him home without realizing who it is), but he recovers with the case of Prinny the poodle's missing food. This latter crime shows the need for a system of justice and punishment, and Charles the rooster is elected judge. (I love the line regarding the election of a judge: "most of the animals who knew Charles were for Peter.")
The rats, though, are the main issue: they steal the train and use it to steal food by crawling along with it as protection. Even when the train is recovered (courtesy of an idea of Mrs. Wiggins'), the rats not only remain in the barn but frame Jinx for killing a crow. Freddy, meanwhile, stumbles upon and eventually nabs two burglars who have been terrorizing Centerboro.
The centerpiece of the book, though, is the trial of Jinx at the end, which is beautifully set up and executed. Freddy demonstrates not only that Jinx is innocent of murder but that there was no murder at all.
At the end, Mr. Bean conveniently closes up the ratholes in the barn during the trial when the rats are out, effectively evicting them, and Freddy and Jinx celebrate their success by hitting the open road once again.
My first impression is that it is all very well done. Even Conan Doyle in the Sherlock Holmes stories too often resorts to a remarkably variety of clubfooted or other conveniently characterized villains (likewise Ellis Peters in the Cadfael books with rare herbs that only grow in one place). Without stooping to such devices Brooks manages to make "The Case of the Murdered Crow" puzzling enough for adults to appreciate but simple enough for children to understand. It's quite an accomplishment.
The only jarring element to my mind is Charles's over-willingness to believe Jinx guilty (after Jinx plays a practical joke on him early in the book). That seems a bit out-of-character, though it may only be because I've read the 22 novels that follow this one, in which the friendship among the main characters is one of the key elements.
Overall, though, I'd say that this is one of the better books in the series, and on that grounds, at least, a good choice for Overlook to lead off with.