The Mill Creek Irregulars: Special Detectives

The Mill Creek Irregulars: Special Detectives by August Derleth (1959) The second installment of the ten book Mill Creek Irregulars series. I really liked the first, The Moon Tenders, as well, and I’d like to read them all, but they’re not easy to find. It’s set in and near a fictional Wisconsin River town based on Derleth’s hometown, and set in the Twenties. Steve is the first-person narrator and more prone to a runaway imagination than his friend Sim, who just wants to fish and stay out of trouble. (I had to wonder, at one point, if Sim’s unusual name could be a joke on “Stick In the Mud.”) Still, they’re both fans of Sherlock Holmes and his Baker Steet Irregulars, and when a mystery presents itself, while visiting Steve’s relatives in the country, they are both game. The intrigue involves something possibly unseemly going on with one of the neighbors—and it’s an unusual kid’s mystery story in that the adults (on their side—Steve’s aunt and uncle and family friends) are equally involved and invested in the outcome. So, it feels somewhat true-to-life—no one’s particularly brilliant or heroic—and there are comic elements without it being too ridiculous. The best thing about the story, though, is the feeling of the small-town life in the Midwest, the description of simple things, and the colorful characters, and the language. It reminded me somewhat of what I like about Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine (similar time period, and also Midwest), and also, the “mundane” parts of early Hardy Boys stories. I’ll have to keep an eye out for the next book, The Pinkertons Ride Again.

12.5.23