Inway Investigators, The

Illustrated by Allan Eitzen
Seabury Press 1969
ISBN# LC 69-13442 Seabury hardcover
ISBN# LC 69-13442 Archway paperback

My first real mystery for kids, based on the little town–Conway, Massachusetts–where we then lived. There had been a rash of pet thefts and this was my take on it. Allan Eitzen who did the cover and some interior illustrations would later illustrate my poetry anthology, ALPHABESTIARY. The opening paragraph came from an ad on the car radio that I heard while driving my kids to school. And one of the characters was based on the real estate dealer (now long deceased) who sold us our first house. Be careful, dear readers, and never annoy a writer, or you may find yourselves artfully enshrined in a book.

What reviewers have said:

• “All in a nine-year-old’s patter that’s fresh, terse, and funny–a capital new line in detection.”–Kirkus
• “A fast-paced detective caper.”–New York Times
• “A lighthearted mystery that might attract reluctant readers.”–School Library Journal