Kat Parker is the niece of Victor Frankenstein, great-grandson of the creator of the famous Frankenstein monster, and is coming to visit him in his small town. The other people don't like him, thinking he's just like his ancestor. But Victor seems nice, and is more interested in creating robots with artificial intelligence. But while Kat's visiting, her uncle starts acting weirdly, and strange things begin to happen. Now, Kat must figure out the truth about her uncle, and what he's really been up to.
This book provides examples of:
- Absent-Minded Professor: Victor Frankenstein doesn't always remember things well. Most prominently, he mixed up the dates of when Kat was going to be visiting, and doesn't get back until after she's defeated the robots trying to take over his life.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The premise of the book — Kat's uncle Victor has been making lifelike robots, but they rebel and try to take his place.
- Angry Guard Dog: Victor has a few to protect his house. Early on, he forgets to chain them up and they almost attack Kat.
- Covers Always Lie: The worst offender of the series, which is actually about evil robots; the dog never becomes a monster.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: The book ends with Victor jokingly suggest he clone Kat, and they both laugh at the idea.
- I Never Got Any Letters: Kat sends out a letter to her parents expressing her concern about everything, letting Victor handle it, but she later finds it torn to shreds in the trash.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: Victor created one named Frank, who Kat is surprised to find out is a robot when she meets him.
- Never Trust a Title: As noted above, the book isn't actually about the dog, it revolves around evil robots.
- Sinister Surveillance: Kat discovers Victor has cameras all over the house, and has been spying on her this whole time.
- Spot the Imposter: The climax has two Victors claiming to be the real one. It turns out it is neither, the real one was in France this whole time.
- Villainous Lineage: Discussed. The other people in Victor's home village firmly believe that he's just like his famous ancestor, the mad scientist who made the Frankenstein monster. He's actually quite nice though.
