I would like to thank Netgalley and Farrago for and advance copy of Broomsticks Over Flaxborough, the seventh novel to feature Inspector Purbright, originally published in 1972.

There are strange goings on in Flaxborough like the folklore society's revels and young women walking the streets in fancy dress. The young women are part of a promotional campaign for washing powder and the folklore society is really a coven. Inspector Purbright is not too worried about either until a young woman, Edna Hillyard, goes missing, closely followed by the local supermarket manager.

I thoroughly enjoyed Broomsticks Over Flaxborough which has a good mystery and some excellent satire on business speak and paganism. I'm not sure if it was my mood but I found some of the detail in the plot difficult to follow, fortunately I got the gist. The novel depends much more on small details than the previous ones so I loved the fact that it is the unassuming Sergeant Love who cracks the case.

I must admit that I thought that unintelligible business jargon was a modern invention but obviously not as Mr Watson has produced pages of such gibberish. It is extremely amusing although, after repeat reading, I'm still not sure I understood it. What I will say is that he has captured the pretension perfectly. His other target is paganism. The thought of middle aged, middle class ladies and gentlemen cavorting in the nude (or in most cases, semi-nude as modesty prevents a full unveiling) brought tears to my eyes but he doesn't stop there as there are ideological differences within the group. Laugh? I couldn't stop. Mr Watson has a fine, nuanced eye for the foibles of English life which he brings to the fore in this novel.

Broomsticks Over Flaxborough is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

The discovery of Colin Watson's Flaxborough novels has been a joy. They are compact gems of wit, acute observation and plotting and every one so far has been an absolute pleasure.

The Flaxborough Crab is the sixth in the series, in which women of the town are subjected to thoroughly inept attempted sexual assaults (which they are often amusingly well able to deal with), apparently by an elderly perpetrator. Things, naturally, become more complex and Purbright and Love find themselves widening their investigation as the magnificent Miss Lucy Teatime also becomes involved.

It's typical Watson – and I mean that as the highest compliment. His portraits of the characters of the town are as shrewd and acerbic as ever and the writing is a masterclass in beautifully crafted prose and dry wit. This, as a "Treat" is being inflicted on the elderly by some of the town's worthies, will give a flavour:
"The chief organiser of the treat bustled into the room, rubbing his hands and saying "Fine! Fine!" over and over again. He hosed the Darbys and Joans with his smile and inflicted a vigorous handshake upon as many as lacked the presence of mind to feign earnest search for something on the floor." ("Hosed". Brilliant!)

Flaxborough Crab is a hugely enjoyable instalment in a wonderful series. Very warmly recommended.

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