Now Then Lad: Tales of a Country Bobby

PC (and subsequently Sergeant) Mike Pannett has an unquestionably excellent background from which to write this story, and he makes good use of his experiences to create an endearing and light memoir. The book is a pastiche of seventeen chapters, each more or less self contained, and telling free-standing stories relating to his policing experiences, in an episodic manner. Pannett clearly loves his native Yorkshire (as do I and many others who visit rather than live there) and he weaves his stories of life on a rural police force inseparably into a narrative of the beautiful region in which he lives. As for the actual policing described, suffice it to say that the heroes are all good, and the villains are largely honorable thieves who give up fairly when caught. It seems strange to read such a sunny tale of life from one who is professionally involved in its darker side, but the book is all the better for its positivism and optimism. An easy and good read. Recommended.