Pipsqueak

Pipsqueak, Brian M. Wiprud, iUniverse, Inc., 2002

Garth Carson is a taxidermy restorer and collector. One day, in an out of the way antique shop, he sees a very famous stuffed squirrel. Pipsqueak the Nutty Nut was a character from the General Buster Show, an afternoon children's TV show from the era before cable and before afternoon TV talk shows. After being told that Pipsqueak isn't for sale, Garth nearly gets caught in a robbery at the antique shop, at which a biker ends up dead and Pipsqueak ends up missing.

Garth and his live-in girlfriend, Angie, a jewelry designer, suddenly find themselves in a rapidly growing mystery, all centered on the squirrel. It involves a stuffed loon, more dead bodies, tuning forks, Soviet-era secrets, thugs in plaid cummerbunds, and Garth's older brother, Nicholas, who Garth hasn't seen in 15 years. Along the way, Garth and Angie find themselves inside the retro-swing music revival and discover a mind control conspiracy involving digital TV. It also involves some very interesting things hidden inside Pipsqueak, and his two colleagues from the General Buster Show, Howlie the Wolf, and Possum, his sidekick.

This one rates pretty high on the Strange Meter. It has something for everyone, and it will certainly keep the reader entertained. Wiprud has done another fine job; this one is very much worth reading.