Out at Home (Mitch and Al Detective) (ISBN 1563154072)

An Enjoyable Mystery!:
Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (10/08) "Out at Home" is Book 6 in the "Mitch and Al Series" of books, but it is the first book in the series that I have read. With some series it is very hard to jump in this far along and completely grasp what is going on. With "Out at Home," that was not the case! The book works very well as a stand-alone novel and there was never an instance when I felt like I was missing any key points by not reading the previous "Mitch and Al" books. The characters were very enjoyable and intriguing and the book only made me want to go back and read the prior five books just to experience more of them working together! "Out at Home" begins at a softball tournament with a questionable call by the umpire Jimmy Joe Clark involving Al's daughter Kristen Jeffery. After Kristin and the coach are both ejected out of the park and the game is over, Al confronts the umpire with words that he will later regret. After commenting on the terrible umpiring job and saying he that would like to smash the umpire's face he goes on to say, "Better yet, I'd like to ram a bat up your fat butt! You're one ump that deserves to be killed." (p.4) On Monday morning, Al was at his place of employment, the St. Paul Daily Dispatch newspaper, where he works as a photographer, when he and reporter Warren "Mitch" Mitchell are informed that a body was found out by the softball field. When they go out to the scene, they find that the victim's name is being withheld pending notification of the family. However, they learn shortly after that the deceased is none other than the umpire Jimmy Joe Clark and yes, you guessed it, there is a bat shoved up where the sun doesn't shine. Obviously, Al is looked at as a potential suspect because of the words that he spoke at the ball field, but Jimmy Joe Clark was a man who had many enemies both from his umpiring job and his day job. "Out at Home" is a definite page-turner! Once I started the book I wasn't able to put it down until I learned the outcome. I loved the element of humor in the book and felt that it added a lot to the fast-paced mystery. I look forward to reading more from Glenn Ickler in the future!