Harry Lipkin, Private Eye

Not so much hard-boiled as soft-boiled, Harry Lipkin, at age 87, is the oldest PI in if not the world than at least Florida. His latest client is elderly Norma Weinberger, who is convinced that a member of her once-trusted staff is a thief. She hires Lipkin to expose the culprit. Like any PI Lipkin can’t turn down a dame in distress. It isn’t long before the octogenarian is on the case, determinedly, but carefully, walking down mean streets in search of the truth, or a good pastrami. Narrator Arthur Morey skillfully brings Lipkin and his world to life in this audio edition. With a borscht belt delivery, the story becomes noir by way of the Catskills, and Morey hits every punch line with perfect timing, without turning Lipkin into a caricature. Underneath the chuckles, Morey reaches into the material to touch lightly on the serious nature of aging and the aged. Morey understands that Lipkin is a man winding down like an old watch. With this recognition he manages to deliver a little pathos along with the humor. A Doubleday hardcover. (July)