Double Negative (Penguin Crime Fiction)

Rating:
Summary: A comic adventure for an unlikely character.
Review: I put David Carkeet in the same category as Patrick Dennis. He finds unlikely scenarios and populates them with likeable characters. He may be considered a young adult author because even his adult books are accessible (no strong language or graphic scenes). This is not a book to be agitated by but to be reassured by: good people survive when the inevitably unfortunate circumstances develop in the routine interactions of daily home and work, however unlikely the actual work may be.

Rating:
Summary: A well-written, amusing mystery
Review: This is Carkeet's best novel, his later two books simply following the same main character, a linguist like the author. The writing is unusually crisp, the plot is engaging and unorthodox (the whole thing takes place in an Indiana daycare center/linguistic think tank), and the characters (particularly the hilariously frustrating police detective) are extremely entertaining. A fine mystery and comic novel at the same time.