When called to a family announcement, Finn just hopes it will be over and done with soon. He has gaming on his mind, and it looks as if his teen sister Sally is itching to get back to her phone.

Dad wants them all to spend some time together as a family, without technology getting in the way. Finn does admit that Mum seems as glued to her phone as Sally, and although all together in their home at the same time, they rarely spend it together.

The only thing that they can agree to do together is to check out the possibility of a new puppy – at least in the near future. This is where it all unravels as they pile into their car and go to leave. The arguments begin before they have even left their driveway as to where will have the best puppy selection.

Only minutes later, with a very cranky neighbour, a horrendous mess and a phone call from their granddad, Sally and Finn get to escape the planned family outing.

Granddad has a new invention which looks amazing, if a little scary. Granddad already had a dog, but…

This thing was way bigger. Like a Great Dane crossed with a bulldozer.

K10 is a robot dog with all sorts of skills, but it’s very robot-like in its movements, as one leg moves at a time, clunky and stiff. Grandad has an idea to make it more dog like, but he needs his dog DaVinci to help. The only problem is, DaVinci has vanished. Can Finn and Sally help find him?

Considering where DaVinci is hiding, Finn should have had a clue about what could possibly happen. After all, Granddad’s experiments have seemed astounding in the past – only to cause complete chaos. Why should this time be any different?

Sure enough, K10, DaVinci, Granddad, Sally and Finn are soon tumbling around in a frantic adventure of mind-swapping, fast-paced action, fearless rescues, and fancy football footwork. Local police officers Tim and Tom Taylor are in pursuit of them all after K10 adds even more mayhem to their mum’s day after a visit to her church.

Being a robot dog, K10 only has a certain amount of battery life, and it is rapidly running down in a mad dash across town, through buildings, ceilings, off vehicles, and into the sky. Will Finn every see his family members alive and well again?

A sequel to the award winning Barking Mad, A Screw Loose finds Finn, his teenage sister Sally and their inventor granddad in another barking mad adventure.

Efforts to avoid technology swing rapidly the other way as a robot dog, high tech weapons and life-saving equipment surround them throughout all their efforts to put things right.

One word can sum up this new adventure – Action. But laughs are aplenty too, with tons of laugh out loud moments as mind swapping mayhem wreaks havoc through a town and a family.

The ticking clock scenario of a rapidly draining battery ups the tension and page-turning speed, and dad’s wish on the first page isn’t so bad after all.

If you want a book with absolutely no boring bits – A Screw Loose is for you!

Author – Tom E Moffat
Illustrator – Paul Beavis
Age – 8+

Read a review of more hilarious Tom E Moffatt adventures here

Find more of Tom E Moffatt’s books here

(2024, Write Laugh, NZ Author, Aotearoa New Zealand, Humour, Funny, Silly, Laugh out loud, Family, Sibling squabbles, Granddad, Grandfather, Inventor, Inventions, Dog, Robot, Police, Twins, Tension, Action, Adventure, Football, Boyfriend, Series, Mind swap)