Series: Inspector Thomas Littlejohn #12
About the author: George Bellairs is the pseudonym of Harold Blundell (1902-1982), a British crime writer and bank manager. He wrote more than 50 books, most featuring the detective Inspector Thomas Littlejohn. He also wrote four novels under the pseudonym Hilary Landon. (wikipedia)
Major characters:
- Detective-Inspector Thomas Littlejohn, Scotland Yard
- Detective-Sergeant Robert Cromwell, Scotland Yard
- Timothy Bellis
- Bessie Emmott, Bellis' lady friend
- Harold Claypott, a drunkard
- Dr. Henry Cooper, police surgeon
- Leah and Constance Claypott, sisters of Harold
- Lambert Hiss, railway ticket collector
- Humphrey Godwin, a witness
Locale: England
Synopsis: Detective-Inspector Thomas Littlejohn is on a country branch line to Ellinborne (the last stop). The train makes an unexpected stop due to a red signal, and during the stop, passenger Timothy Bellis is shot dead. Suicide is suspected, as Bellis had been the recipient of a series of poison pen letters, promising revenge on a financial collapse he had caused. His girlfriend, Bessie Emmott, believes it was murder.
Review: How did I ever miss this author? This was the first I had read of his. The story is fast packed and full of humorous incidents and outrageous calamities; in the manner of Manning Coles. Especially enjoyable is the chapter-long account of a concert, having little to do with the plot but a lot of fun as one of the characters, Lambert Hiss, solos on the trombone.
I set out to locate more of his stories - found a nice collection for the Kindle in the 99 cent bin on Amazon!
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