Another satisfying read from George Bellairs.

Harry Dodd,regretfully divorced from his first wife, (his pushy son having forced his mother into a divorce to take control of the family business), and living in the loft to be out of the way of his flirty mistress/common law wife and her poisonous money grabbing mother, is stabbed on the way home from the pub.Why he doesn’t ring for an ambulance rather than this unlikable pair I don’t know but they fetch him home only for him to die in the car before they get back.
His ambitious MP brother fetches in Scotland Yard in the reliable shape of Chief Inspector Littlejohn and Sergeant Cromwell and the bodies start falling like ninepins.

This is perhaps not in my top ten of Bellairs’ efforts but is enjoyable nonetheless, with his usual masterly painting of characters and places, and some excellent names, my favourite being Enoch Shoofoot, and more twists and turns than a rollercoaster.

I would still recommend this installment in the Littlejohn oeuvre to someone who is familliar with Bellairs’ characters, but perhaps don’t make it the first of his you read.

Harry Dodd was a married man with a successful business. All that was lost when Harry went "middle-aged crazy" and ran off briefly with a younger woman. Now he's stuck in a stifling cottage with his not-too-bright lover and her pushy mother where he lives in the attic to escape them. One evening, someone knifes and kills Harry. George Bellairs' reoccurring characters, Inspector Littlejohn and Officer Cromwell of Scotland Yard, are called in. As they investigate, the body count rises. While murder is a serious matter, Bellairs' description of Harry's lover and her mother, and their attempts to act cultured, is hilarious. This is an entertaining classic British mystery populated with colorful characters, some likeable and some downright despicable.

What started out as an interesting read quickly went off track and seemed to be far to drawn out, a very gentle but complex read

There are many classes or kinds of detective stories and I am not going to try and classify them all but I will describe which this particular book falls under. We walk the line along with the lead investigators, seeing what they see and are only allowed to (probably) see a little bit further down the line till the culprit is unmasked. Then the tale still continues, in order to wrap the story up as well as the apprehension of the culprit. There is no tricking of the villains into revealing their doings but careful piecing of the puzzle by everyone as a team and sometimes a sleight of hand (on only a few occasions).
Harry Dodd is knifed and subsequently dies of the injury. He is a man of many faces. Each person, from varied parts of his life, indicate a whole different person and it hard to figure which of those descriptions can be actually added to the entire puzzle. There is subtle humour sprinkled about the tale, nothing extravagant but enough to get a feel for the investigative duo, Inspector Littlejohn and Cromwell. It was a pretty solid tale which could have been shorter but considering the time of its original publication, the length is to be expected. This story is not for anyone in a hurry, especially to pin their accusations correctly on any one person since the extended family, friends, and acquaintances are all under scrutiny to figure out who killed Harry Dodd.

It was a fine reunion with Littlejohn and Cromwell.

The story takes place in rural England in the 1950s. Harry Dodd is stabbed on his way home from the pub. He is an unobtrusive man, who now lives with his mistress and her mother. The family forced a divorce after his digression and apart from his former wife there is no love lost between them. In the beginning Littlejohn and Cromwell have very little to go by, but gradually Harry's whereabouts unfolds and also who his enemies and friends are. More murders take place before they succeed in solving the crime.

It is a very well told story with a good plot, which was difficult to guess. And as always a lot of fun characters. The teamwork between Littlejohn and Cromwell delightful - so jet another well written mystery by George Bellairs.

If you've read any of the littlejohn series you know you're in for a treat and this one doesn't disappoint, nice laid-back who done it but with enough suspense and twists to keep you going.
This adventure is based near Lowestoft and Cambridge, and includes Cromwell he's able assistant and the usual array of fun characters that may at sometimes be comical but yet are still very believable. I guess they are believable because they have flaws like the rest of us plus most have some redeeming features. The plot is well worked out and addictive the twist and humour come through it with most humour at the beginning and the twists at the end but not exclusively but it's how your expect it to be it you have read any of George Bellaire books before. He is no your average bank manager (Mr Bellaire that is).
If you haven't read any of littlejohn series before then this is a good place to start littlejohn is from Scotland yard and Cromwell is his assistant and they're called into a murder enquiry when he called Harry. Is stabbed in the back and dies of his injury. As the story progresses so there's a death count and what appears to be a murder with no motive, soon turns off in several directions as we learn of his strange and at times perplexing life. Harry Dodd send to have made one mistake that was his much younger secretary and a weekend away. Is offspring couldn't wait to get in divorce from his from their mother and take over his family business and well the rest I will let you read for your self and I hope you do because it's a great book from a fantastic series. And I haven't yet found any of this these books to warrant a anything less than five stars, see what you think.

The eighth in the,ever polite but ever shrewd, Inspector Littlejohn mysteries from the very talented pen of George Bellairs. Classic, vintage crime at it's best. Ingenious and engaging plotting, perfect prose, superb characterisation and clever flashes of humour combine for a highly satisfying read. Thoroughly recommended.

This is another highly enjoyable mystery novel from George Bellairs. There is a lot in this book to engage with. From the unexpectedly intricate plot, which turns in some surprising directions, to the wonderfully drawn characters. I love the gentle comedy Bellairs often infuses his minor characters with as well. I would strongly recommend this title for anyone who loves reading vintage/golden age detective fiction.

This book is a classic English murder mystery which unfolds slowly but steadily. There are a lot of depths to each characters and the storyline twisted and turned as Inspector Littlejohn and Cromwell followed the clues with some solid detecting work.

I just can't get enough of books by George Bellair, always good to read, with a wonderful storyline and a really good mystery.
I love the writing style as it really brings the people and era alive in every book. I am always sad when I come to the end of his books.