Harry Lipkin, Private Eye

British author Fantoni, once the chief contributor and writer for Private Eye magazine, introduces a most unusual PI, 87-year-old Harry Lipkin, in the first, one hopes, in a light crime series. Norma Weinberger, an affluent widow in her 70s, hires the geriatric gumshoe, who runs his detective agency out of his home in Warmheart, Fla., to look into the theft of a pillbox with sentimental value from her home. Since the most likely culprit is a member of Norma’s staff, Harry interviews the chauffeur, the maid, the butler, the chef, and the gardener in an attempt to uncover financial difficulties that would lead one of them to risk losing his or her cushy job by stealing the item. The headings of the short chapters (“Harry and Mr. Lee Walk to the Kitchen”) reinforce the arch tone. While the ending will surprise few readers, Fantoni doesn’t make the mistake of giving his lead the capacities of a younger man. (July)