Time to Smell the Roses

The Hermux Tantamoq Adventures #4

by Michael Hoeye

There's something prickly going on in the town of Thorny End, and as Hermux Tantamoq is about to discover, it's not just the roses. When rose magnate Androse deRosenquil asks him to take on an intriguing missing squirrel case, Hermux can't say no and before he knows it, he's caught up in a mystery involving mutant bees, a rose fragrance rivalry starring cosmetics tycoon Tucka Mertslin, and strange incidents taking place on an uninhabited island with a troubled past.

With the help of his fiancée, aviatrix Linka Perflinger, talented pet ladybug, Terfle, and a rebellious teenage squirrel named Twigg, Hermux must uncover what's really happening on the island, find the missing squirrel and save the day and deRosenquil's roses without getting stung in the process.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Adventure, Childrens

273 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2007

About the author

Michael Hoeye has worked as a farmer, fashion photographer, stagehand and high-school teacher. He and his wife, Martha, live in a stone cottage in Oregon with their cat, Lionel. They enjoy the company of nine big oak trees, six bigger fir trees, three fat squirrels, a noisy family of woodpeckers and a travelling circus of nuthatches, blue jays, crows, finches and robins.

Michael's first novel for children, Time Stops For No Mouse, was a worldwide success. The Sands of Time is his second book.

Reviews

[Amina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe it's because I just finished an 800 page novel, densely-packed with small text that took me 5 months to read or maybe it's nostalgia but wanting to try and continue reading I picked up this book which is one of the few books I actually own. I bought it years ago when I was younger, I can't remember where but I'm glad I did.

Although it is aimed at younger readers, the book is great fun even as an adult. For me, it blends mystery and slice-of-life wonderfully. The descriptions are so charming, from the characters (who aren't even human!) to the food (rosehip-peanut-cruller anyone?) to even the small details like the in-universe brands - it makes the setting feel cosy and intimate, like that 'everybody knows each other' vibe.

This is actually making me wish the library was open right now to read more, but I'm definitely going to be reading the other three books in this series when I can get them!

[Momo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of this children's book series featuring watchmaker/detective mouse Hermux Tantamoq, but I read the third volume, "No Time Like Show Time," several years ago, and I was afraid that this fourth book wouldn't charm me in the way that the previous ones had. After reading just the first few pages, I was relieved to find the characters I loved still lovable, including adventuress/aviatrix Linka, Hermux's fiancee, and Terfle, his trusty ladybug pet/companion/assistant, and the character I loved to hate, cosmetics-guru Tucka Mertslin, still wonderfully loathsome. In this installment, Hermux is hired to find the long-missing son of the wealthy patriarch-squirrel of a rose-growing empire. As he goes about his investigation, while he and Linka make plans for their wedding, he finds himself caught up in a dangerous mystery involving a homeless and rebellious young squirrel named Twigg; a stolen corpse; killer bees; a prankster/scientist-turned-ally of Tucka; and Tucka herself and her latest scheme to expand her beauty-industry empire. The story is well plotted and exciting, the writing fine and sure. Although it's been, at the time of this review, nearly nine years since the publication of "Time to Smell the Roses," I hold out hope that there will be more Hermux adventures to come!

[Barb Ruess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I realize these are written for the "young adult" audience. I guess I'm just young at heart because I've read all of the Hermux Tantamoq adventures and loved every one of them. Very fast reads, exciting, funny... fun books!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hermux Tantamoq Adventures is a delightful middle-grade series about a detective/watchmaker named Hermux, his friends and all of his adventures. I read the first three books in this series ages ago and for some reason never read the fourth (and final?) book. I love how well developed all the characters are in this series, and I especially love that each one has their own important part to play in solving the mysteries. The world is rich and imaginative, which makes for a fun read. I'm sad that there aren't any more books planned in the series. Farewell Hermux!

[Richard Legault · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another (and I believe the last) entry in the Hermux Tantamoq mouse detective series. It was easily as charming as the other three. I felt that the mystery aspects didn't hold together as well as the previous titles. There were two intersecting stories going on, and the headline mystery didn't appear on the main character's radar until the last third of the book.

[Ellen Ingamells · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series, but I struggled with this book. I think Hoeye tried to include too many characters and secret identities. Without the second son, and the additional scientist the amount of information you were juggling would have been just a bit simpler and easier to follow. About half way through everything settles down and is a typical, enjoyable Hermux Tantamoq mystery again.

[Penelope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it another great book by Michael Hoeye! The story was captivating and i wish he would expand the Hermux Tandamoq advetures little more with more books because i can't believe that it's over....

[Peyton Forbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

i found this book super entertaining to read. I was a little confused at points, but once I got the hang of the story, I couldn’t stop reading. I love how the two stories came together at the end and made a really good story.

[Francesca~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Potrei leggere altri mille libri su questo topo orologiaio. Nella mia testa ormai è il nuovo Geronimo Stilton per la me adulta.
Dolce e scorrevole, me lo terrò stretto per rileggerlo nelle giornate tristi

[Malini Prasad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable kids book!! Very entertaining and kept me turning each page. I randomly picked up this book at a used bookstore and was very pleasantly surprised by the plot and great character development.

[Kristi Duncan-priest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it all!!

[donna craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

yet another brilliant story of the mouse watchmaker/detective im going to be sad finishing the 4th book in the series a wonderfully written book and story

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Tantamoq adventure, I love these little gems. My least memorable in many ways, but it means I fall back in love with it each time I re-read it!

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really sweet end to the series. Another fun adventure!

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

E con questo volume si concludono le avventure di Hermux.
Mi dispiace molto, perchè è una delle mie serie preferite di sempre, e ci sarebbe spazio per almeno un paio di altri volumi.
Bellissima avventura come le precedenti, è stato bellissimo vedere Terfle maggiormente in azione, una dei miei personaggi preferiti.
E le descrizioni del cibo sono sempre da leccarsi i baffi!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

*sniffle* Man, I'm really going to miss these characters. Hermux, thanks for the adventures, the laughs, the memories and the snacks. (These books ALWAYS make me hungry - the food is cheesy and quaint and so delicious-sounding!) This one wraps up nicely, just like the first three, with a satisfying crack that reminds me of reading Nancy Drew and Sammy Keyes as a kid.

Hermux, Terfle and Linka are at last ready to start their new lives together when a Mystery Appears! This one involves a murder, perfume, competitive business rivals, and a few deep family secrets. It's scandalous, twisted, tangled, and of course Tucka's right in the middle of it all. Expect a lot of clever rose puns, bee stings and new friends :)

I do enjoy that each of these books features a "theme" - art, history, the theater - although this was probably my least favorite. But I loved the story. There are breathtaking action sequences along with some really heartwarming moments. I'm so bummed the books haven't continued - I would've loved to hear what sort of doughnuts were served at the Tantamoq/Perflinger wedding.

This is a random detail, but I really enjoy - beyond just her nature and narrative presence - how everyone else treats Hermux's pet. It's a sign that a character is "good" when he or she treats Terfle with respect, and a sign that a character is "bad," or villainous, when Terfle is ignored. There are many lessons embedded in these pages, and this to me is one of the most charming and important.

Sigh. I just love these cozy, nostalgic, amusing mysteries.

Blog | Instagram | Twitter

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Hoeye wraps up his fantastical series his fourth installment, Time to Smell the Roses. With a wedding to plan, Hermux is already up to his knees in trouble when Androse DeRosenquill, head of the famed DeRosenquill family, urges him to travel to Thorny End, famed for it's variety of roses. Androse wastes no time in charging Hermux in finding his estranged son, Plank, in order to save the family business. Likewise, Tucka Mertslin wastes no time in jumping right in as well, sending her minions there in order to cause havoc in the name of greed. Joined by fiancee Linka Perflinger and ladybug Terfle, Hermux will uncover a dastardly plot involving washed-up bodies, gun toting henchmen and killer bees, all leading to the final confrontation that will have you thoroughly satisfied.

The Adventures of Hermux Tantamoq regrettably reaches the curtain fall in Michael Hoeye's final installment to the series. A comical cast of bugs and rodents team up in a story that stays strong to the very end.

[Julie lit pour les autres · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lu en français: L'élixir de rose.

Ah. La fin des aventures d'Hermux (enfin, jusqu'ici). Je suis restée un peu sur ma faim. Il y a quelque chose dans ce roman qui lui enlève un peu de la magie que j'ai observée dans la série, et je me demande si ce n'est pas la traduction argotique qui le rend moins intéressant. Si l'intrigue toujours autour de l'horrible mais tellement drôle Tucka Mertslin, la reine des cosmétiques en mal d'attention, et que le propos est très intéressant à débattre au plan moral avec les jeunes (est-ce que la fin justifie réellement les moyens?), la traduction rend le livre moins plaisant à lire. L'intrigue est finement ciselée, l'imagination de l'auteur complètement débridée, les personnages toujours délicieux de roublardise et de fantaisie (Terfèle, la coccinelle, se découvre une âme d'artiste)... Il manque toutefois à ce livre la neutralité langagière caractéristique du reste de la série.

Tout de même, quelle série réjouissante!

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time to Smell the Roses has all the quirkiness of the watchmaker mouse's previous adventure. Hermux and Linka are planning their wedding but, as usual, Hermux is accidentally caught up in solving a mystery.

Beauty tycoon, Tucka Mertslin, is as black-hearted and scheming as ever - and this time she's intent on ensuring that her rival, Reezor Bleesom, is ruined before he gets time to celebrate his invention of the perfect perfume.

Tucka enlists the help of Killium Wollar, a borderline psychopath who fortunately for everyone is too lazy most of the time to harm anyone. In league with Tucka, however, it's a different story.

Hermux is caught up in the drama of Tucka's machinations, Killium's vicious practical jokes, a mysterious body washed up on a beach and the missing heir to a fortune of rose bushes.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, light reading. Which is just what the doctor ordered when you haven't slept much in the past few days and you constantly get to hold a wonderful new life, which doesn't do much except sleep. The good guys in these books are very charming and nice and the bad guys are very easy to dislike. But that is kind of what makes them merely "cute", rather than great (no deep or interesting commentary on the human condition here). This is a fun little melodrama, which has its place, and is a quite enjoyable one.

Update 2024 - I just read this book aloud to my kids over the past several months at bedtime. My review from 13 years ago still stands up I think. Fun melodrama.

[Taurean Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me too long to read this book, partly because it's been so long since it's original release and there's been no news of a follow up or any other book, and as a writer myself I know books can take such a long time before they're ready to share to the masses, but as a reader first, it can be hard waiting.

My point here is that this was such a stellar follow up to the previous book I had to savor it. This for me was one of those books you hate to see end.


Any reader who thinks animal fantasy is either fluffy "kid's stuff" or overly "adult" will find a refreshing middle ground with this series.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watchmaker-detective Hermux Tantamoq (if you haven't read the earlier books--and you should--you won't know he's a mouse) is trying to plan his wedding to his beloved Linka Perflinger, when he's called by the aged rosarian, Androse DeRosenquill. He thinks that he'll be asked to repair the beautiful clock tower that's a feature of Thorny End, but DeRosenquill wants Hermux to find his long-lost heir. It should be enough to say that malicious cosmetic magnate Tucka Mertslin is deeply involved in the puzzle that Hermux and Linka must solve.

[Jennifer A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 4th in the Hermux series by Michael Hoeye. I don't think this one was quite as good as the rest but still entertaining. This was the first book with a murder as the main plot line and sometimes thinking about mice having cleavage is a little odd, but all in all ann entertaining read geared towards the preteen to teen crowd, although I think adults with a sense of humor would enjoy them as well.

[LB · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not sure why my rating of this book is lower than the other books in the series... Perhaps because it's more of the same. Or maybe I've grown tired of the seemingly necessary heterosexual pairings... In a fantasy world of mice and squirrels where sex role stereotypes are refreshingly absent, and almost anything is possible, it would be equally refreshing not to be pounded over the head with the message that the key to happiness for every rodent boy is a rodent girl.

[Linnae · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the midst of making wedding plans with Linka, Hermux the mouse finds himself once again embroiled in a mystery. This time it has to do with a whole field of dead roses, not to mention an unidentified dead squirrel, a bug taxidermist/coroner, and a hive full of monogrammed killer bees.

Not as much satiric subtext to this one as some of his others, but utterly charming and enjoyable nonetheless.

[Mel Raschke]

When rose magnate Androse deRosenquil invites Hermux Tantamoq to come to Thorny End, Hermux assumes i‛s to fix the long-broken clock in the clock tower. But when deRosenquil asks him to take on a missing-squirrel case, Hermux can‛t say no—and before he knows it, he's caught up in a mystery involving mutant bees, a rose fragrance rivalry starring cosmetics tycoon Tucka Mertslin, and strange incidents taking place on an uninhabited island.

[Bookdweller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think it was as good as previous Hermux Tantamoq books, but perhaps that's just because I'm coming to it as an older reader. It took an annoyingly long time for the obvious revelation of where the missing child had gone. It also had an extremely cheesy ending. I'm not sure how I feel about the character of Terfle either, I find her a bit cutesy, and Tucka being found guilty due to Terfle's durings was plain ridiculous.

[Ilana Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Tantamoq's biggest adventure yet, and a perfect way to end the series! I must admit, I was a little disappointed at hearing so much about Hermux's and Linka's wedding at the beginning of the novel, and not seeing it at the end. But needless to say, true love, family, and chivalry prevail. If Mr. Hoeye ever feels like continuing his adventures in the fictional city of Pinchester, this is one eager reader who will be waiting.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time To Smell The Roses by Michael Hoeye was no suprise to me. It was an excellent addition to the Hermux Tantamoq series. I was very happy to see that Hoeye added another book to his collection and hopefully continues. I would encourage anyone to read this book of all ages, but first I would read the previous ones.All in all, this books gets a 5 out of 5 rating.

[Anna-Maria Crum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read the fourth book in the series hoping it would pick up and be more like the first two books. It didn't. The plot again depended almost entirely on coincidence. I find it interesting that the first two books were self-published and the second books were published by G. P. Putnam's Sons. I have to say that I think Mr. Hoeye did a better job on his own.