Post­ed by Nao­mi Firestone-Teeter

Meet Har­ry Lip­kin, the world’s old­est pri­vate detec­tive: part Sam Spade, part Woody Allen, all men­sch.

With a tagline like that, who could resist? Har­ry Lip­kin, Pri­vate Eye (Bar­ry Fan­toni) will be pub­lished by Dou­ble­day in July.

Har­ry Lip­kin is a tough-talk­ing, soft-chew­ing, rough-around-the-edges, slow-around-the-cor­ners pri­vate inves­ti­ga­tor who car­ries a .38 along with a spare set of den­tures. Har­ry spe­cial­izes in the sort of cas­es that cops can’t be both­ered with, but knows where to find good chopped liv­er for a fair price. He might not be the best P.I. in Mia­mi, but at 87, he’s cer­tain­ly the oldest.

His lat­est client, Mrs. Nor­ma Wein­berg­er, has a prob­lem. Some­one in her home is steal­ing sen­ti­men­tal trin­kets and the occa­sion­al price­less jew­el from her; some­one she employs, trusts, cares for, and treats like fam­i­ly. With the stakes so low and blood pres­sure that’s a lit­tle too high, Har­ry Lip­kin must fig­ure out who­dunit before the thief strikes again.