The solution of this gentle murder mystery goes astray like the pitch of seventeen year-old Jason Beard when he first...
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WILD PITCH
by ‧RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1972
The solution of this gentle murder mystery goes astray like the pitch of seventeen year-old Jason Beard when he first catches a glimpse of Geet Hawthorne -- the only thing (other than fingerprint kits and crafty trout) that can take his mind off what used to be the country's favorite outdoor pastime. When not strengthening his arm for the weekly game, Jason semi-officially assists grizzling Chick Charleston at the sheriff's office, most notably in a double murder case that sets the 1500 souls of his sleepy town a-buzzing -- what with few clues and a plethora of suspects. The author behind the naive narrator persona of Jason seems more interested in the slow drawl of town ""characters"" -- dying with the passing of a certain kind of life -- than with the machinations of the typical whodunit, which is OK for everyone except maybe Jason, who ""loses"" Geet to the sheriff in an ending at least as interesting as the offhanded collaring of the half-forgotten murderer. Folksy.