Philo Gubb, Correspondence-School Detective

Ellis Parker Butler gives us one of the most lovable bumblers in early American fiction. Philo Gubb is a wallpaper-hanger with dreams bigger than his talent. Enrolling in a correspondence-school detective course, he receives his lessons by mail and a steady supply of disguises that never quite work. The problem? Philo isn't clever. He isn't intuitive. He isn't even good at hiding his enormous ears. What he is, somehow, is lucky. Every case he stumbles into gets solved, not through brilliant deduction but through cheerful accidents and relentless enthusiasm. The local police grow bewildered, the criminals grow careless, and Philo Gubb, 'deteckative,' sails on with absolute confidence in his skills. These eight linked stories parody the Sherlock Holmes craze with affectionate satire, delivering cozy mysteries wrapped in comic misadventure. It's detective fiction turned inside out: the hero wins not because he's the smartest person in the room, but because he simply won't leave the room alone. Perfect for readers who want their mysteries light, their heroes earnest, and their humor old-fashioned.