Over and Under

No Laughing Matter... Murder is horrible, of course, as Inspector Don Packham will attest. But when the weapon is a baseball bat - in a cricket pavilion, no less - well, that's a crime of another sort. The grim display appeared at the annual cricket match between the Comedians and the Writers - an odd lot of amateurs, collectors, comics and, sadly, one victim, Bruce Lester, an accountant found wearing a dress.
While Packham's long-suffering partner, Frank Mitchell, plays straight man to his boss's manic energy on the good days - and cheerleader on those dreaded down days - the pair investigates. So who killed Bruce? The wife? A bit too attractive for that fellow, Packham surmises. The client? The Irish comedian's dirty finances may have forced a more deadly sort of accounting. The American? Well, he would know all about baseball bats, wouldn't he? Packham vows the double indignity of death by baseball bat will not go unpunished.