Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The Convivial Codfish

The Convivial Codfish
by Charlotte MacLeod

As Exalted Chowderhead of the Comrades of the Convival Codfish, Jeremy (Jem) Kelling, presides over their Christmas revels. Part of the merriment includes skewing a plastic inflatable Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The company yells, "Bah, humbug!" Because he is the Exalted Chowderhead, Jem wears the Great Chain with its sterling silver codfish, but when he notices that the insignia is missing, Jem puts in a call to his niece and nephew-by-marriage, Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. This mystery is totally off-the-wall and Jem is an endearingly puckish curmudgeon and eccentric. (When he is injured later in the book, he ducks hospital rules and drinks eggnogs laced with brandy.) Max must tread carefully in his investigation because a member of the Comrades obviously took the "sacred relic" as Jem describes the codfish, and some of them are even family members. The pranks do not overwhelm the mystery in this effort (as they sometimes do with MacLeod). A really great read. -- recommended by Rianne S. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Wikipedia page for Charlotte MacLeod ]

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