A review by oltombom
Cocktail Time by P.G. Wodehouse

5.0

This is another ridiculously fun Wodehouse book. It is one of the Uncle Fred series. Uncle Fred is an older man with a young and mischievous personality. Even so, his goal is always to spread sweetness and light (whether people want it or not). [Uncle Fred is essentially the same character as Galahad Threepwood from Wodehouse's Blandings series.] In this installment, Uncle Fred encourages his old friend, Sir Raymond Bastable to loosen up and write a book. Bastable uses a pen name because the resulting book is a little too scandalous for a prospective member of Parliament. Upon discovering the true identity of the author, several parties attempt to blackmail Bastable. Always up for a challenge, Uncle Fred attempts to thwart the blackmailers who include Bastable's perpetually hard-up nephew Cosmo Wisdom and the American crime couple, Gordon “Oily” Carlisle and his wife, Gertie who is ever-willing to "bust someone one" with anything from a vase to a blackjack. Cocktail Time also includes a host of fun side characters such as Bastable's rabbitesque sister Phoebe Wisdom, his butler, Albert Peasemarch (who secretly loves Phoebe), and the avid ornithologist and semi-retired literary agent, Old Howard Saxby. Saxby is one of my favorite Wodehouse side characters. He never listens to what anyone says and constantly throws out baffling non sequiturs. All-in-all, jolly good fun!