There is something about a crisp fall evening spent cuddled up with a good mystery.  Oyster Mill Playhouse in East Pennsboro Twp. endeavors to create that experience in its production of Leslie Sands' "Cat's Cradle," which runs through Sunday.

"Cat's Cradle" is a complicated whodunit, set in the mid-1980s at an inn in remote Waverton, England.

Twelve years prior to the play's action, a 6-month-old baby was mysteriously kidnapped and the responsible party was never found.

Scotland Yard Inspector Frost, who initially failed to solve the crime, returns to Waverton with new evidence.  But he is greeted with extreme hostility by the town's inhabitants, and it becomes increasingly clear that the truth about the child's disappearance is shrouded in a conspiracy of secrecy and silence.  The ultimate truth is startling and completely unexpected.

The play is well-crafted and very British -- the Brits seem to own the parlor mystery genre.

The play demands of its actors the use of accents and an understanding of unfamiliar phrases, which can be challenging.  In the Oyster Mill production, the actors seemed to have an understanding of what they are talking about, but some of the accents weren't as strong as they could have been.

Tom Moore's portrayal of the cynical Inspector Frost was somewhat stiff, which worked for the most part.  However, it didn't seem like he had an accent, which was odd because everyone else did.

A highlight of the evening was Lisa L. Weitzman's portrayal of Pamela Fulton, the mother of the missing child.  She gave the character the snobbery that the role demanded without making her so much of a witch that the audience hated her.  It's a difficult task that she executed well.

Larry Wineland did nice work as Waverton's patriarchal benefactor, Sir Charles Creswell.

Two of the strongest performances are by the cast's youngest members, Sara Ross and Sam Horvath.  Ross portrays Sara Fulton, the missing baby's sister, who is betrothed to Creswell's nephew.  Although her time on stage is limited, she makes good use of it and gives a strong, well-developed performance.

While he might be a bit young for the role, Horvath is charming as Bob Marriot, the editor of Waverton's tiny newspaper.

Despite strong performances, the play seemed slow on occasion.  Mysteries need to move, or else an audience will lose interest.  Those moments were few, but consistent pacing is key to the success of a play like this.