Diplomatic Corpse

This last of the Asey Mayo mysteries opens with the whole town of Quanomet involved in a local historical pageant. A chance visitor, Buff Orpington, meets an old friend, Kay and her son Bobby. He'd been best man at her wedding about 8 years before. She lost her husband and he his friend in the war. She tells him of all the efforts to sabotage the pageant, grandstand braces have been sawed, nails put in tires, etc. Kay has asked Asey Mayo to help figure out who is trying to ruin the event. Then the historical know-it-all, Muriel Babcock, is murdered in the cemetery. Not long after Asey turns up, he gets biffed over the head too. There are elusive clues and much chasing around to talk to suspects in borrowed cars because someone keeps filching Asey's Porter. The Doc is there mouthing off, and Jenny, with her fascination with genealogy, helps too with the problem of the irregular tombstone. Even little Bobby helps and is rewarded with the gift of a geiger counter, his heart's desire. This is a book I'll read again just to pick up on elements I've missed the first time through.