A Sticky Wicket by John Kemp

About the book

Oxbridge Estate is slap bang in the middle of Dudberry, England but in every other aspect of life there, it is decidedly off center and rather askew.

The Estate is the backdrop for residents who have little time left to accomplish their dreams but a lot of time to regret what they have done.

Ronny Summers regret isn't so much criminal but more a neglect and betrayal of his former loved one, Patricia Witherspoon. Patricia is flabbergasted when she runs into her old boyfriend after thirty-five years apart. She had stood Ronny up, but now suddenly and rather awkwardly he has moved in next-door to her.

Corrie Flowers has returned from her dude ranch in Arizona and linked up with the cultured but hermit-like, Scotsman Jim McPhail. Her intuition tells her that Ronny had his sidekick Finch, are retired criminals. Their suspicious behavior quickly backs up her assumption.

One of the residents at Oxbridge is believed to be a member of the, Johnny Hibiscus gang -- responsible for the Great Train Robbery of Little Twittering less than sixty miles away and nearly forty years earlier.

Together with her tea drinking cricket loving confidante, Corrie investigates the mix of odd bods, misfits and quirky residents at the prestigious but crusty retirement home.

Corrie takes them all on, in a collection of humorous sleuthing mishaps or "senior moments" which include arthritic bouts while breaking and entry, forgetfulness with regard to crucial evidence and investigations constantly interrupted by sleep.

All the while Corrie must avoid Meredith Blunkett who has romantic designs on Jim, and Charlie Burton who is just... well, plain annoying.

Charlie and Ronny slug it out for Patricia's affections on the Oxbridge Estate lawns. Not with boxing gloves as you might imagine but with a cricket bat and ball.

Corrie is ultimately successful and finds the culprit under her own nose. It is none other than, one of her own Sunshine girls; the bald, heavy set, gardening enthusiast Alistair Frome.

About the author

John Kemp studied Photography at Plymouth and Watford Colleges in England. He received his Diploma and City and Guilds. After college, he worked for the Metropolitan Police in London as a Scene of Crime Photographer. Attracted to travel, he took a position as a Manager onboard luxury cruise ships for more than ten years. This enabled him to travel the world and fulfill a dream.

He has had his photographs published in several newspapers and magazines and in a book published by, Habitat for Humanity.

After getting married he returned to "and" and then later, continued for a few more years at sea. For the last four years he has found his "land" legs and currently works in property management at a retirement facility in the United States.