Over And Under (A Don Pacham, Frank Mitchell Mystery) (A Don Pacham, Frank Mitchell Mystery)

Finding out who did in the accountant with a baseball bat is just part of the story. Much more interesting is the interaction between the Inspector Don and the Constable Frank. Wonderful puns and observations kept me reading passages to anybody around. Some take a moment to sink in, such as when a woman constable had been given the task of getting information about everyone who was at the cricket game at the time of the murder. Don later says to her, "I'm told you have a list?" She replies, "No sir. It's just these shoes." A discussion about hedgehogs prompted by Frank's almost running over a dead one on the highway leads to his assertion that in American some people keep them as pets. Don cautions that you can't believe all what you hear; some of it is just anti-American propaganda. He goes on to say, "They're human beings you know, same as us." Don lit a cigar. "In many ways." Very amusing story and of course they catch the perp.

In Cowden, England, at the annual cricket match between the comedians and the writers, someone kills Frank Lester. Though an accountant Franks was a big fan of comedy so he joined that squad for the match. Detective Constable Frank Mitchell leads the inquiries until his superior Detective Inspector Don Parkham arrives at the scene. The two cops learn that the murder weapon is a baseball bat, which frustrates Don as no one except Marilyn Monroe's ex-husband plays that sport until you reach Massachusetts or is it Maine. It just does not seem cricket to Don that an American sports item was used. As the police dig deeper, they find a host of suspects from both teams, but none with a clear motive to swing the bat at a fandom accountant. This amusing British police procedural at times will sound like Abbot and Costello having one of their famous dissertations as the story line never fully takes itself seriously yet provides a fine investigative tale. The two cops are a delight to observe in action as they misunderstand one another yet work together to solve the case. The climax sums up the book nicely as Don insures that Frank's two-year son has the proper equipment of cricket not that foreign game with bats that make it impossible to miss the ball. Harriet Klausner