on the trail of the golden owl (in french, "sur la trace de la chouette d'or") is a french armchair treasure hunt book, created by communications expert régis hauser under the pseudonym "max valentin", and by artist michel becker. the book provides clues to the location of a buried statuette of an owl, created by becker. hauser/valentin died in 2009, and the solutions are now held by his lawyer.