These books need to be back in print and I am glad that they are. Flaxborough is a town that defies logic and in this volume the butcher Arthur is concerned that he has not heard from his sister in law. I fine these books to be witty and smart and downright enjoyable reads and I bet you will too! If you like British humor and a good mystery look no further.

A classic English treat! I am reading everything I can find by this author now. The book was well paced and I enjoyed the protagonist very much. Will be looking forward to more in this series.

It's British. It's mystery, and I had a blast reading it. I love this series and the covers for them! This is book 4 and I managed to read them out of order and it still worked great for me. I love following the noir feel of this series. It's perfect. The growth of the characters and the mystery just keep me coming back over and over again.

I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Net Galley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and this review is left of my own free will.

In this funny British mystery, Lucilla (Lucy) Cavell Teatime, a charming con woman arrives in Flaxborough, decides to stay and takes on a grifter who meets his victims through a matrimonial agency. The agency has fallen under the watchful eye of Inspector Purbright who is investigating the disappearance of two middle age women who were previous clients of the agency. Now he is concerned with the safety of the agencies latest client, Miss Teatime. He decides to provide her “protection” in the form of two less than brilliant officers who are no match for the experienced and skilled lady who, it appears, is more than able to take care of herself.'

This is my third time to venture into Purbright territory and I must admit each junket is more enjoyable than the last. These are quick reads that you can finish in an afternoon so if you’re looking for something lighthearted and enjoyable to fill a few hours LONELYHEART 4122 is just the ticket.

Great British cozy mystery! I received a copy from NetGalley and this is my honest review. Another great Flaxborough cozy mystery! I really am enjoying this wonderful series. The characters are wonderfully eccentric and the stories are very well-written. Try one, you will love it!

Another great mystery with the Flaxborough detective! I am so happy to have discovered this British police procedural series. How refreshing to read these mysteries that took place before modern technology. Thanks to NetGalley and to Farrago books for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received this book free from Netgalley. This did not influence my review.

Thanks to Netgalley, I’ve discovered British mystery author Colin Watson. (See book one in the Flaxborough Chronicles: Coffin Scarcely Used.) The books largely follow the work of Inspector Purbright, a small-town investigator whose polite, persistent detective skills have solved several murders already.

Book four in the series is Lonelyheart 4122. When two middle-aged women, one unmarried and one widowed, go missing within a short span of time, relatives become concerned and bring the matter to the police. After some gentle questioning, Purbright is convinced there has been foul play and he begins looking into the matter. One thing they both had in common was that they were customers of a match-making agency, the Handclasp House Marriage Bureau. Each had a bit of money that also may have gone missing. Could they have been conned? Were they murdered?

Coincidentally, a con-woman, Miss Lucy Teatime, arrives in Flaxborough, presumably because things have become a bit hot for her back in London. Seeing an advertisement for the Handclasp House, she signs up. Soon, she is matched with a charming old seaman. It’s quite evident that each is trying to con the other. Their mercenary courtship is a delight to follow.

However, Purbright is following also, concerned for Miss Teatime and unaware that she is more than a match for an unscrupulous suitor. But is she a match for a murderer?

With his usual care, Purbright pieces together the clues and hurries to head off disaster.

Lonelyheart 4122 is an entertaining cozy mystery with a splash of dry British humor. This series is a lot of fun!

Time for Teatime... 5 stars

When Arthur Spain notices that his widowed sister-in-law, Lil, hasn’t been around recently, he pops round to visit her, but his worry increases when he finds a row of full milk bottles outside her door, some curdled, suggesting she hasn’t been home for a couple of weeks. So he reports her missing and soon Inspector Purbright is worrying too, because Lil’s disappearance reminds him of another one from a few months back. Could the two missing women be connected in some way? A bit of investigation shows that both had recently signed on as clients of Handclasp House, a local dating agency...

This is the 4th entry in Watson’s Flaxborough Chronicles and the series is well into its stride by now. As always, it’s full of rather wicked humour about the weaknesses of human nature and those who exploit them. Inspector Purbright is his usual unflappable self, a detective as free from angst as even I could wish for, and with a nice line in mild sarcasm, but never cruelly employed. His sidekick, Sergeant Sid Love, hides a mind like a sink behind a cherubic countenance. And Chief Constable Harcourt Chubb remains the perfect figurehead for the force, a pillar of respectability, stolid and unimaginative.

A new client has just signed up with the dating agency. Miss Lucilla Edith Cavell Teatime is exactly the type of woman an unscrupulous man might prey on – single and new to the area, therefore without friends or family to look out for her, middle-aged and lonely, and so naive and utterly respectable herself that she’s unable to imagine unworthy motives in others. Or at least that’s how she seems on the outside, and Purbright is worried she might be the next victim. But the reader sees much of the story from Miss Teatime’s perspective, so we soon learn she’s not quite as innocent as she likes to appear. As Miss Teatime begins to correspond with a gentleman also looking for love, Purbright and Sid have to balance their investigation of the previous disappearances with their desire to prevent her from becoming the next victim. But Miss Teatime has plans of her own...

I love these books and am delighted that Farrago are re-releasing all twelve of them for Kindle. It’s the first time for years they’ve been available at reasonable prices, and that’s a necessity since once you’ve read the first one (Coffin Scarcely Used), you will undoubtedly want to binge-read the rest. Although they’re all very good, the ones in the middle are undoubtedly the best, once Watson had established all the regulars. Often humorous crime books are let down by the plotting, but each of these has a strong story and a proper investigation, so they’re satisfying on both levels. They are wickedly perceptive about middle-class English society of the ‘50s, with Watson letting the reader see through the veneer of dull respectability to the skulduggery and jiggery-pokery going on beneath. Mildly subversive, but affectionately so, they form a kind of bridge between the Golden Age and more modern crime novels, with the same class divides as in the earlier era but with the irreverence about them that came fully to the fore in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

But mostly what they are is hugely entertaining, and that’s why you should read them. And if you’ve already read them, give yourself a treat and read them all again. Highly recommended!

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Farrago.

Nothing against the book, but I’m just not a fan of Colin Watson’s writing. I don’t understand when he’s making a joke. I’m bored while reading and I don’t really know what’s happening in the books

When a local butcher visits Detective Inspector Purbright with the tale of his missing sister-in-law Lillian, Purbright remembers that recently another woman about the same age had gone missing. After searching Lillian’s home, he finds three letters from a suitor and a checkbook with a check made out to a local matrimonial agency, and he recalls the previous mission woman had also done the same.

After visiting the agency, Handclasp House, he acquires the name of a new client, Lucy Teatime. He sets his sergeant, Sid Love, to keep an eye on the lady in question while he searches for answers. Upon further investigation, he learns that there was a break-in at the the agency, and that the amiable Miss Teatime has been able to elude not only Sergeant Love, but another officer as well.

Convinced that the man who is courting Miss Teatime - for he is sure there is a man - is the same one who had courted the other two ladies who have still not been found, he is more than ever sure that there is a con artist at work who is not only fleecing these women of whatever means they have, but that he has something to do with their disappearance as well. And while it seems that Miss Teatime is sure the man she is seeing is not the same one Purbright has warned her against, he is. But will she be able to save herself before she meets the same fate, or will Purbright fail in rescuing her?

Once again we are visiting the market town of Flaxborough and the domain of Detective Inspector Purbright, and once again he is on the trail of a criminal, this time a man who joins a lonelyhearts club in order to fleece vulnerable women of their savings and then dispose of them. But he’s been elusive so far, and since he manages to change his appearance, no one can give a description. He also manages to meet in public places that seem ordinary at first, but in being so, no one pays him nor the lady much attention at all; and this is why his scheme has managed to foster so well.

But this time he’s come across two formidable adversaries: Purbright and the redoubtable Miss Teatime, who is nobody’s fool. In fact, Miss Teatime has a few secrets and surprises of her own which he doesn’t count on. It is once again a tale well-written with memorable characters who are lively and well-drawn, and a delight to read about.

When the ending comes we are given the requisite surprises that Mr. Watson manages to do so well; I would suggest that anyone reading his books does not jump to the end to sneak a peak at the outcome; it is so much more fun if you read the entire book through. I absolutely love these books and am looking forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.

While our Craigslist Killers and stories of dating service crime seem so new and horrifying, reading Lonelyheart 4122 is a sobering reminder that preying on the lonely is not new with the internet.

Handclasp House, a discreet service to introduce persons of good character wishing to meet gentlepersons of the opposite sex, seems to have attracted a nasty character who is killing women after emptying their bank accounts. Flaxborough DI Purbright and Sergeant Love are brought into the case. As always in Colin Watson's books it is Flaxborough and its citizens who are the subject of the book and usual they are hilariously human.

I received a review copy of "Lonelyheart 4122: A Flaxborough Mystery Book 4" by Colin Watson (Farrago) through NetGalley.com. It was originally published in 1967 by Eyre & Spottiswoode, London and has been reissued several times before this Farrago edition.

This Flaxborough novel takes a different twist as Purbright and Love must look into a matrimonial bureau when two local women go missing. This book is not as graphically odd in its murders as some of the others but it was interesting nonetheless.
I found Lucy Teatime to be fascinating. She drinks whiskey, smokes cigars, and “takes pains to spare one personally the spectacle of yet another dumpy, disgruntled, defeated old woman” because “decrepit bodies were no less offensive than decrepit buildings, tasteless clothes as inexcusable as ugly shop fronts” (location 274). She’s very confident and observant.
Purbright tells Sergeant Love that the con man who works the love con is the hardest worker of all. “Think of a life that is perpetual courtship of the last woman on earth you’d care to marry” (location 413). Sergeant Love has his own insights to offer on this case which just may turn the investigation around.
As with other Flaxborough novels, the writing is witty and delightful. It’s fun to try to figure things out. Inevitably, I think I have it figured out but a big twist changes everything. It’s very satisfying and a lot of fun. I’d recommend these novels to anyone who loves a good mystery.
Thank you to Farrago for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.

This is the fourth book in the Flaxborough series, featuring Detective Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love. This one is about a matchmaking bureau in Flaxborough that seems to have connections to missing women. Mrs Lucilla Teatime, a woman of independent means, checks into the local hotel and signs up with the dating agency. What happens next is absolutely unpredictable and, as with all of these books, humorous and quite charming in places.

These books would appeal to anyone who likes their crime novels quite cosy. There's no gore or violence or real peril here, just an engaging and suitably unpredictable crime story.

Although this is the fourth book, I don't think it matters really where you pick up the series. Each is enjoyable in its own right and I actually think this is the best of the three I have read to date.

It suddenly occurs to Flaxborough butcher, Arthur Spain, that he hasn't seen his recently widowed sister-in-law, Lillian Bannister, in a while. Upon visiting her residence, he is even more alarmed. Everything seems as usual until he goes around the back and finds ranks of milk bottles that have been delivered, but never retrieved. Inspector Purbright is also alarmed because a spinster of the town, Miss Martha Reckitt, has disappeared under much similar circumstances.



Inspector Purbright and his trusty Sargeant Love spring into action. I say "spring" but really, in Flaxborough, things proceed at a much more leisurely pace. As they search through the backgrounds of the missing ladies, they discover that both had contracted with a matrimonial agency, Handclasp House. Both ladies had also dropped hints of significant changes in their lives. At the same time Miss Lucilla Edith Cavell Teatime, is en route to Flaxborough. She is a very different lady though, fashionable, sophisticated, and self-possessed. She also registers with the agency, but why?

I have really enjoyed reading The Flaxborough Chronicles, and Lonelyheart 4122 is my favorite so far. Colin Watson had a very witty and somewhat wicked sense of humor that shines in these mysteries set in late 50's, early 60's England. He always stumps me with a word or two, such as "flocculent" to describe the bottles at the back door. There are always plays on words and descriptions that tickle me. Purbright, upon peering into a keyhole and seeing an eye, then gaining admission, describes it, "He looked at their owner's face and saw his old friend the eye, now revealed to have an associate." Social commentary is an essential component in these highly readable shortish novels.

Thanks to Farrago and NetGalley for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.

I really enjoy this book, in my mind this is one of Colin Watson's best, couldn't put it down and was not disappointed with the storyline. Love the characters and the subtle humour in the books. A must read.

Not the most compelling Flaxborough mystery, even for a series that doesn't really traffic in heart-stopping action, with some really unpleasant characters. Too much time spent with these ne'er do wells for my taste and a bit of snobbishness about dating while older makes this entry not a strong recommend for me - okay for completists but not a starting point for those just starting the series.

I enjoyed this books as much as I enjoyed the previous ones.
It's fun to read and a good mystery as well.
Strongly recommended.

I really am enjoying this series so much. This is a cracking instalment with a dating agency and what I hope is going to be a new regular character for the series. I read this in practically one sitting. So much fun."

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrago Publishing for the advanced review copy of Lonelyheart 4122, the fourth book in the Flaxborough Chronicles, and the opportunity to once again visit the English village of Flaxborough and watch police Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love at work.

As the story opens, it’s 1967 and Purbright and Love are investigating the disappearances of two older women of some means. The only connection they can find between the two women is the Handclasp House Marriage Bureau. Handclasp House is a local dating agency owned and (seemingly very discretely and thoroughly) managed by Mr. & Mrs. Staunch. Privacy is ensured: clients are referred to by assigned numbers only and all correspondence goes through Handclasp House. While conducting interviews at Handclasp House, they meet Miss Lucilla Edith Cavell Teatime, possibly another potential victim. But is she? Just what exactly is she up to? And who is Lonelyheart 4122?

The Flaxborough Chronicles are old school British police procedurals beginning in about 1957. Every story has been a bit different; this one doesn’t have so much focus on the townspeople, but Purbright and Love can capably carry the story through, and Miss Teatime is a delightful addition to the cast of characters. She is not at all what she seems, and each chapter reveals a little more about her character, and adds a little more confusion to her agenda. The mysteries are solid, with detailed police work, eccentric and quirky supporting characters, and a sprinkling of clues and red herrings thrown in for Purbright and Love (and you) to work with to try and solve the crime.

The writing is superb but the absolute best thing about the Flaxborough Chronicles is Colin Watson's way with the words; his clever use of language will have you feeling as if you are there with the characters, immersed in the scene. They are that vivid, and often laugh out loud funny – once you realize what outrageous statement or observation he disguised in everyday words.

I am hooked on this series. You will be too, and if you haven’t yet read them I advise you to start at the beginning, so you don’t miss a thing. I received a copy of Lonelyheart 4122 from the publisher via NetGalley.

I absolutely loved Lonelyheart 4122. It is the fourth of Watson's Flaxborough mysteries and for me is the best so far.

The redoubtable Inspector Purbright is concerned about the apparent disappearance of two local women, both of whom have used a local lonely hearts agency. As investigations continue we also meet Miss Lucy Teatime, a wonderful character of uncertain past and infinite resource who arrives in Flaxborough and also registers with the agency.

What follows is a small masterpiece of witty, inventive storytelling. Watson writes superbly and it feels as though he's hit his stride by this stage; his style is still dryly funny and very acute in its observations and characterisation but slightly more fluid and relaxed than in the first three books, so that I was carried along without effort and with huge enjoyment. At about 150 pages, the book is also gratifyingly concise and feels like a perfectly crafted little gem.

If you haven't discovered Colin Watson yet, do try him. He's been a truly joyous discovery for me and I can wholeheartedly recommend Lonelyheart 4122.

(My thanks to Farrago for an ARC via NetGalley.)