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Flaxborough Chronicles #12
Whatever's Been Going On at Mumblesby?
In Flaxborough’s posh neighbouring village, Mumblesbury, the local solicitor, Richard Daspard Loughbury, has suddenly died.
Natural causes it appears, but DI Purbright and the ever-helpful Miss Lucy Teatime are taken aback by the quality of Loughbury’s art collection – including a Paul Klee, a Corot, and even a fragment of the “True Cross”.
All seem to have been acquired locally and the question of blackmail hangs in the air. Loughbury’s decidedly un-posh widow, Zoe, is less than grief-stricken, as are a cast of colourful characters from randy farmers to gin-soaked county types. Then, the recent suicide of a local farmer’s wife also begins to look questionable.
174 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1982
86 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Colin Watson
64 books29 followersColin Watson was educated at the Whitgift School in South Croydon, London. During his career as a journalist he worked in London and Newcastle-on-Tyne, where he was a leader-writer for Kemsley Newspapers.
His book Hopjoy Was Here (1962) received the Silver Dagger Award. He was married, with three children, and lived in Lincolnshire. After retiring from journalism he designed silver jewellery.
As well as a series of humorous detective novels set in the imaginary town of Flaxborough, featuring Inspector Purbright, Watson also wrote and later revised a study of detective stories and thrillers called Snobbery with Violence.
His book Hopjoy Was Here (1962) received the Silver Dagger Award. He was married, with three children, and lived in Lincolnshire. After retiring from journalism he designed silver jewellery.
As well as a series of humorous detective novels set in the imaginary town of Flaxborough, featuring Inspector Purbright, Watson also wrote and later revised a study of detective stories and thrillers called Snobbery with Violence.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
August 8, 2018
Sad to say, this is the last in a series of 20th century British police procedurals written by the late Colin Watson currently being republished by Farrago. I have thoroughly enjoyed the entire series and found them to be intriguing mysteries written with wry humor.
The title of this last book seems rather odd and clumsy but it fits the story precisely--just what HAS been going on in the village of Mumblesby?? Theft? Blackmail? Murder?
Inspector Purbright is intuitive and has a keen wit and can solve the case with the help of his sidekick Sergeant Love, if only the very proper and class-sensitive Chief Constable Chubb doesn't prevent him from digging in high places for the truth.
Many thanks to Farrago for providing me with advanced readers copies of this entire series via Net Galley for an honest review. They were delightful reading and I'm grateful for the opportunity.
The title of this last book seems rather odd and clumsy but it fits the story precisely--just what HAS been going on in the village of Mumblesby?? Theft? Blackmail? Murder?
Inspector Purbright is intuitive and has a keen wit and can solve the case with the help of his sidekick Sergeant Love, if only the very proper and class-sensitive Chief Constable Chubb doesn't prevent him from digging in high places for the truth.
Many thanks to Farrago for providing me with advanced readers copies of this entire series via Net Galley for an honest review. They were delightful reading and I'm grateful for the opportunity.
November 18, 2021
I have just finished re-reading the whole series of The Flaxborough Chronicles of which this is the twelfth and last one. The plots may be a little bit farcical but I forgive Colin Watson all of this because he writes such wonderful (British) English. The characters, especially Mr Harcourt Chubb, the Chief Constable and Miss Lucilla Teatime are so well drawn that I feel I know them. A very witty pen "dipped in acid" as one reviewer commented. If I could only take one set of books on a desert island, it would be these.
A smile on every page. Twilight Close: What a name for a care home for the elderly:
Superb !!!
A smile on every page. Twilight Close: What a name for a care home for the elderly:
Superb !!!
August 24, 2018
Truly humorous mysteries
I’ve recently discovered Colin Watson and I’m thoroughly enjoying the series. What a great wit and many fair clues to go on. Recommended
I’ve recently discovered Colin Watson and I’m thoroughly enjoying the series. What a great wit and many fair clues to go on. Recommended
July 29, 2018
This is the last of Colin Watson’s Flaxborough mysteries and, in spite of its rather clumsy title, it’s another very good one.
The death of prominent Flaxborough solicitor “Rich Dick” Loughbury reveals some odd transactions involving art works and curious behaviour by some other local notables, which cast doubt on the suicide of a local woman some time before. Needless to say, Inspector Purbright investigates in his typically polite but doggedly perceptive way, with Miss Lucilla Teatime making a very welcome appearance.
As always, the chief pleasure of the book is Watson’s wit and his nicely barbed observations on things like pretentious restaurants and other local foibles. It’s perhaps not one of his very best; the plot is decent but borrows some key ideas from Dorothy L. Sayers’s Busman’s Honeymoon and the sharpness of the observation isn’t quite what it sometimes has been, but it’s still a very enjoyable read. I’m very sorry to have come to the end of this series – it has been a delightful find for me and I can recommend all of them very warmly.
(My thanks to Farrago for an ARC via NetGalley.)
The death of prominent Flaxborough solicitor “Rich Dick” Loughbury reveals some odd transactions involving art works and curious behaviour by some other local notables, which cast doubt on the suicide of a local woman some time before. Needless to say, Inspector Purbright investigates in his typically polite but doggedly perceptive way, with Miss Lucilla Teatime making a very welcome appearance.
As always, the chief pleasure of the book is Watson’s wit and his nicely barbed observations on things like pretentious restaurants and other local foibles. It’s perhaps not one of his very best; the plot is decent but borrows some key ideas from Dorothy L. Sayers’s Busman’s Honeymoon and the sharpness of the observation isn’t quite what it sometimes has been, but it’s still a very enjoyable read. I’m very sorry to have come to the end of this series – it has been a delightful find for me and I can recommend all of them very warmly.
(My thanks to Farrago for an ARC via NetGalley.)
August 13, 2018
Trust the rich to make Whatever’s Been Going on in Mumblesby? an intricate braintwister of a cozy mystery.
It’s 1981 and Flaxborough’s upper class neighboring town, Mumblesby, is in an uproar. First, solicitor Richard installed Zoe Claypole, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, in his house as his common law wife. Second, Richard died leaving his estate to Zoe. Finally, someone hatched an elaborate plan to burn down Richard’s house with Zoe in it. What about the expensive antiques with questionable provenance throughout Richard’s house? If you thought Flaxborough had some bizarre crimes, wait until you see Whatever’s Been Going on in Mumblesby?
It’s sad to think this is the last book in the Flaxborough series. I’ll miss this zany take-off on the Miss Marple type British village cozy mystery. However, Whatever’s Been Going on in Mumblesby? is an excellent end to the series. It is an intriguing puzzle sure to enchant all armchair detectives, myself included. 4 stars!
Thanks to the publisher, Farrago, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.
It’s 1981 and Flaxborough’s upper class neighboring town, Mumblesby, is in an uproar. First, solicitor Richard installed Zoe Claypole, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, in his house as his common law wife. Second, Richard died leaving his estate to Zoe. Finally, someone hatched an elaborate plan to burn down Richard’s house with Zoe in it. What about the expensive antiques with questionable provenance throughout Richard’s house? If you thought Flaxborough had some bizarre crimes, wait until you see Whatever’s Been Going on in Mumblesby?
It’s sad to think this is the last book in the Flaxborough series. I’ll miss this zany take-off on the Miss Marple type British village cozy mystery. However, Whatever’s Been Going on in Mumblesby? is an excellent end to the series. It is an intriguing puzzle sure to enchant all armchair detectives, myself included. 4 stars!
Thanks to the publisher, Farrago, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.
August 2, 2018
Well, you discover something new every day, right? I've never heard of Colin Watson or the Flaxborough Chronicles before, but I think even those who heard of him would like to rediscover this series.. It's not every day that you read such a well-written story, in such a witty style...
Mumblesby is apparently a dormant village where nothing ever happens, except it does. And only an intuitive, skilful detective such as Purbright will look for clues and uncover secrets through pure logical deduction. No crime scene investigation, no interrogation techniques, no gadgets... making the series still enjoyable and believable almost 36 years after its first publication.
Mumblesby is apparently a dormant village where nothing ever happens, except it does. And only an intuitive, skilful detective such as Purbright will look for clues and uncover secrets through pure logical deduction. No crime scene investigation, no interrogation techniques, no gadgets... making the series still enjoyable and believable almost 36 years after its first publication.
October 28, 2021
Rating between 3.5 & 4
An entertaining read that reminded me of several other writers if I am honest.
The investigation element of this book wasn’t that deep really and Inspector Purbright (with Sgt Love) didn’t do all that much really. The death of a solicitor with a rather expensive objets d’art collection leads into the reopening of an assumed case of suicide from the previous year.
The plot is really an excuse for the author to write another entertaining and humorous word picture of a group of individuals and their environs , using his extensive vocabulary that sort of hides the fact that not a lot is happening most of the time.
The detection is very gentle and methodically performed by Purbright, essentially he always reminds me of a British provincial police version of Columbo.
A definite recommendation that certainly wouldn’t appeal to everyone - even fans of cosy style mysteries.
An entertaining read that reminded me of several other writers if I am honest.
The investigation element of this book wasn’t that deep really and Inspector Purbright (with Sgt Love) didn’t do all that much really. The death of a solicitor with a rather expensive objets d’art collection leads into the reopening of an assumed case of suicide from the previous year.
The plot is really an excuse for the author to write another entertaining and humorous word picture of a group of individuals and their environs , using his extensive vocabulary that sort of hides the fact that not a lot is happening most of the time.
The detection is very gentle and methodically performed by Purbright, essentially he always reminds me of a British provincial police version of Columbo.
A definite recommendation that certainly wouldn’t appeal to everyone - even fans of cosy style mysteries.
August 8, 2018
I would like to thank Netgalley and Farrago for a review copy of Whatever's Been Going on at Mumblesby the twelfth and final novel in the Flaxborough Chronicles series of police procedurals, originally published in 1982.
When local solicitor "Rich Dick" Loughbury dies his estate contains some expensive pieces with mysterious antecedents which surprise both Inspector Purbright and the estimable Miss Lucilla Teatime, recently established as an antiques expert. What intrigues Inspector Purbright even more are the pranks being played on his widow, Zoe. As he investigates further he stumbles across the apparent suicide of a local woman the year previously and adds it into his puzzle of events in Mumblesby.
I thoroughly enjoyed Whatever's Been Going on at Mumblesby which takes a humourous look at the class divisions in a small village and has a good mystery thrown in as a bonus. As ever the plotting is ingenious and while all the clues are there I failed to pick up on them so the resolution came as a surprise and an "oh, of course" moment.
The joy of the novel, however, lies in the writing. The plot does not rely on the absurd as much as some of the other novels although it does have its moments, like the piece of the true cross, but the humour is still there in abundance. It lies more in the arch tone and the pithy character sketches which imply so much more than is actually said. I particularly liked the way the other residents talk about and treat Zoe Claypole Loughbury, daughter of a publican and very definitely not one of us. They may be in for a surprise!
Inspector Purbright is in his own understated way the star of the novel. His method consists of sharp thinking and conversation which affords Mr Watson the opportunity to draw his characters rather acidly and never miss the soft spot and all the time hint that Inspector Purbright is thinking feverishly under his laconic facade. It's all a bit tongue in cheek, so highly amusing.
Whatever's Been Going on at Mumblesby is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.
When local solicitor "Rich Dick" Loughbury dies his estate contains some expensive pieces with mysterious antecedents which surprise both Inspector Purbright and the estimable Miss Lucilla Teatime, recently established as an antiques expert. What intrigues Inspector Purbright even more are the pranks being played on his widow, Zoe. As he investigates further he stumbles across the apparent suicide of a local woman the year previously and adds it into his puzzle of events in Mumblesby.
I thoroughly enjoyed Whatever's Been Going on at Mumblesby which takes a humourous look at the class divisions in a small village and has a good mystery thrown in as a bonus. As ever the plotting is ingenious and while all the clues are there I failed to pick up on them so the resolution came as a surprise and an "oh, of course" moment.
The joy of the novel, however, lies in the writing. The plot does not rely on the absurd as much as some of the other novels although it does have its moments, like the piece of the true cross, but the humour is still there in abundance. It lies more in the arch tone and the pithy character sketches which imply so much more than is actually said. I particularly liked the way the other residents talk about and treat Zoe Claypole Loughbury, daughter of a publican and very definitely not one of us. They may be in for a surprise!
Inspector Purbright is in his own understated way the star of the novel. His method consists of sharp thinking and conversation which affords Mr Watson the opportunity to draw his characters rather acidly and never miss the soft spot and all the time hint that Inspector Purbright is thinking feverishly under his laconic facade. It's all a bit tongue in cheek, so highly amusing.
Whatever's Been Going on at Mumblesby is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.
August 25, 2018
This is the last book (#12) in the Flaxborough Mystery series. While it wasn’t my favorite, it still had many of the traits that I’ve enjoyed throughout this series.
Witty writing – “Thus Mr. Brian Lewcock…addressed…the wife who, despite his occasional urging of her to that course, showed no inclination to predecease him” (location 32). Sometimes the thoughts are so ridiculous that I get caught off guard and laugh out loud.
The unique relationship between Detective Inspector Purbright and Chief Constable Chubb. I wonder how Chubb got to be Chief Constable when he doesn’t really like to get involved or to upset the status quo. It is all the funnier then when he thinks Purbright is being a nuisance investigating things. In the end they get things worked out but it’s not without a lot of push and pull on their parts.
The manner of the crime is always fresh and different in this series and that holds true again.
This book had references to characters and events in prior books which I find enjoyable. Based on the beginning, I thought Lucy Teatime would play a larger part in this book. She’s an interesting character. I would have liked to have seen her more involved. All told, this is another solid mystery/police procedural.
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.
Witty writing – “Thus Mr. Brian Lewcock…addressed…the wife who, despite his occasional urging of her to that course, showed no inclination to predecease him” (location 32). Sometimes the thoughts are so ridiculous that I get caught off guard and laugh out loud.
The unique relationship between Detective Inspector Purbright and Chief Constable Chubb. I wonder how Chubb got to be Chief Constable when he doesn’t really like to get involved or to upset the status quo. It is all the funnier then when he thinks Purbright is being a nuisance investigating things. In the end they get things worked out but it’s not without a lot of push and pull on their parts.
The manner of the crime is always fresh and different in this series and that holds true again.
This book had references to characters and events in prior books which I find enjoyable. Based on the beginning, I thought Lucy Teatime would play a larger part in this book. She’s an interesting character. I would have liked to have seen her more involved. All told, this is another solid mystery/police procedural.
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.
August 12, 2018
Sadly, this is the last of the Flaxborough Chronicles. In this final appearance, Inspector Purbright attends a funeral service as Chief Constable Chubb's representative only to find that the widow has been locked in her house. Going to the rescue leads to a mess of unanswered questions that stretch back several years. Why did the deceased have valuable antiques that he had not purchased, items that had previously been owned by others in the village? As Sgt. Love and the Inspector begin to speak to the residents of Mumblesby and those from Flaxborough with long memories, Purbright begins to feel something is going on beyond outraged family members. Inconsistencies in interviews from a previous inquest, possible arson, and an attack on a house with large machinery are just some of the oddities that crop up. All the traditions and prejudices of rural English life are present and influence the outcome of the investigation.
For those who have followed the career of Inspector Purbright from the beginning of the Flaxborough mysteries, this book will be a fond farewell to beloved characters. Purbright, Love, Chubb, Malley, Teatime and the others are all part of finding the answer to what's been going on. If you haven't yet tried this series, but enjoy British mysteries that are not too political or inordinately long in length, then you should pick up one of the titles.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
For those who have followed the career of Inspector Purbright from the beginning of the Flaxborough mysteries, this book will be a fond farewell to beloved characters. Purbright, Love, Chubb, Malley, Teatime and the others are all part of finding the answer to what's been going on. If you haven't yet tried this series, but enjoy British mysteries that are not too political or inordinately long in length, then you should pick up one of the titles.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
July 26, 2018
So farewell, then, to Flaxborough, or rather Mumblesby, in this ultimate outing for Inspector Purbright, Chief Constable Chubb and Sergeant Love.
Antiques and adultery feature largely in this comic mystery arising from the death of a local solicitor whose house apparently provides a home for a piece of the True Cross.
Why was “Rich Dick” Loughbury’s widow locked in the bathroom on the day of his funeral and a fire set in the house? Why, later, is its gable end knocked down? Where does the suicide of farmer’s wife Bernadette Croll fit in?
Some of these questions are answered…Does anyone ever really know what Lucilla Teatime is up to? Others are left, intriguingly, to the reader’s imagination.
Most crimes involve sex and money, Cupid and cupidity, and this proves no different. The solution is, however, very ingenious.
Fans of Colin Watson will love the storyline and be downcast that it was the last of the Chronicles.
Thank you to NetGalley and Farrago for the digital ARC.
Antiques and adultery feature largely in this comic mystery arising from the death of a local solicitor whose house apparently provides a home for a piece of the True Cross.
Why was “Rich Dick” Loughbury’s widow locked in the bathroom on the day of his funeral and a fire set in the house? Why, later, is its gable end knocked down? Where does the suicide of farmer’s wife Bernadette Croll fit in?
Some of these questions are answered…Does anyone ever really know what Lucilla Teatime is up to? Others are left, intriguingly, to the reader’s imagination.
Most crimes involve sex and money, Cupid and cupidity, and this proves no different. The solution is, however, very ingenious.
Fans of Colin Watson will love the storyline and be downcast that it was the last of the Chronicles.
Thank you to NetGalley and Farrago for the digital ARC.
October 8, 2018
This is another delightful visit to Flaxborough – or this time the nearby village of Mumblesby – and another meet up with the quirky characters we’ve come to know and love like Inspector Purbright, Miss Teatime, Detective Sergeant Love and those kooky villagers, and to get to know some new folks, just as quirky and just as interesting.
As always it’s a good, solid, old-fashioned mystery with clues and suspects aplenty and Colin Watson’s trademark masterful use of language and wordplay. Some phrases will make you laugh out loud, some will have you scratching your head, and some won’t sink in for a while until you have the ah ha moment.
Thanks to Prelude Books for discovering and re-issuing these gems. Whatever’s Been Going on at Mumblesby was another very enjoyable read that kept me guessing until the end.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley; all opinions are my own.
As always it’s a good, solid, old-fashioned mystery with clues and suspects aplenty and Colin Watson’s trademark masterful use of language and wordplay. Some phrases will make you laugh out loud, some will have you scratching your head, and some won’t sink in for a while until you have the ah ha moment.
Thanks to Prelude Books for discovering and re-issuing these gems. Whatever’s Been Going on at Mumblesby was another very enjoyable read that kept me guessing until the end.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley; all opinions are my own.
August 13, 2018
Oh my… The last one in the Flaxborough Mystery series! It’s saddening in some ways as it’s not easy to find something like this nowadays. A good mystery stories with sharp and wise local policemen. And of course, the side characters that no less than spectacular.
In this last book, once again DI Purbright worked together with Miss Teatime. I am so in love with these two interactions. Their flirting was so classy and kind of cute, something not easily found in current books. The mystery was intriguing. Something that started so simple (or so it seemed), became something more sinister and complicated. One of the best in the series, and too bad there’s no more after this one.
I was provided a complementary copy by the author / publisher through NetGalley, but this in no way influenced my thoughts or opinions.
In this last book, once again DI Purbright worked together with Miss Teatime. I am so in love with these two interactions. Their flirting was so classy and kind of cute, something not easily found in current books. The mystery was intriguing. Something that started so simple (or so it seemed), became something more sinister and complicated. One of the best in the series, and too bad there’s no more after this one.
I was provided a complementary copy by the author / publisher through NetGalley, but this in no way influenced my thoughts or opinions.
October 3, 2018
Another nasty mystery, with thoroughly unpleasant people and odd interludes of surrealism. The Flaxborough series is confounding to me; half the time I'm very confused as to the purpose of a particular scene (like I totally don't understand the import behind dialogue or what a shrugged shoulder, for example, is supposed to indicate to me as a reader with regard to the character doing the shrugging or being shrugged at) and the other half is really trying to understand the 70s-80s Britishness of it all. I don't not recommend this book, as it definitely goes in on the seriousness of the crime at hand, but I can't get full behind it - it's a real try it yourself and see.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 27, 2018
After the death of Richard Daspard Loughbury, a rather well-off solicitor, some incidents call the attention of DI Purbright. What Purbright will discover as the story unfolds, that's something I never saw coming! The characters are so well-depicted that I almost felt I was seeing them. The absence of the technology we are so used to (the story takes place in the early 80s) was somehow refreshing. The prose, although not fast-paced, is witty and elegant, I just loved reading this book! Thanks NetGalley for my copy of Whatever's Been Going on at Mumbblesby! #NetGalley #WhateversBeenGoingOnAtMumblesby #Mumblesby #ColinWatson
August 13, 2018
****Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review*****
I've really enjoyed reading this series and am sad that this is the last one. It's not my favourite - but it's still pretty good. An interesting mystery, a good cast of suspects and appearances from all my favourites of the regulars. Perfect old-fashioned cozy crime police procedural in rural(ish) England. Ideal for fans of George Gently and similar.
I've really enjoyed reading this series and am sad that this is the last one. It's not my favourite - but it's still pretty good. An interesting mystery, a good cast of suspects and appearances from all my favourites of the regulars. Perfect old-fashioned cozy crime police procedural in rural(ish) England. Ideal for fans of George Gently and similar.
October 30, 2020
Another witty Flaxborough story
Genuine puzzle, with interesting characters and a delightful witty dialogue. This is the first of the stories I have read since rewstching the excellent BBC series "Murder Most English" in which a few (too few and excluding this one) of the stories were dramatized. The leading characters, Purbright, Love, Chubb & Miss Teatime, were superbly brought to life and I see the characters from the series when reading the books.
Genuine puzzle, with interesting characters and a delightful witty dialogue. This is the first of the stories I have read since rewstching the excellent BBC series "Murder Most English" in which a few (too few and excluding this one) of the stories were dramatized. The leading characters, Purbright, Love, Chubb & Miss Teatime, were superbly brought to life and I see the characters from the series when reading the books.
August 30, 2018
This is the final story in the Flaxborough series however you could easily read this as a standalone.
It isn’t my favourite but I enjoyed that Miss Lucy Teatime featured in this book.
It is a cosy, quintessentially British murder mystery.
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It isn’t my favourite but I enjoyed that Miss Lucy Teatime featured in this book.
It is a cosy, quintessentially British murder mystery.
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 5, 2022
Watson's books are very good examples of their genre: cozy, funny, rural English murder mystery/police procedurals. Full of wry, cynical humor and that English combination of gentle humor and outright slapstick, this book is good entertainment. I didn't give it five stars because it isn't Watson's best, but it is still several cuts above the competition.
June 29, 2019
So sorry to be finish with this series! I do think this is one of the better plots and I enjoyed getting glimpses into the main characters’ lives – just glimpses, mind you. I could imagine all sorts of things about them. I’ll explore some more like these that have been recommended.
October 23, 2019
The final Flaxborough mystery is a genial affair--apart from the dead woman. She's actually been dead for some months, thought to have been a suicide, but Purbright learns otherwise while investigating the threats on the widow--loosely termed--of an unscrupulous lawyer.
March 7, 2023
Not nearly as witty or as clever as the author intends. It's painfully dated, the characters are charmless stereotypes and the plot is obvious. Not least because the perpetrators are allowed to reveal the mystery before the investigator. Little to recommend it.
August 11, 2018
review to follow
January 2, 2020
This was great fun, I'm going to look for the others!
September 13, 2022
Quite fun in a snobby, 80s, Midsomer Murders kind of way.
November 30, 2023
This is a very gentle old-fashioned police murder investigation, laced with some wit.
August 20, 2018
Loved this series and read them all!
August 17, 2018
Clever plot of tying antiques and an holy relic to a church killing. Colin Watson, once again, introduced us readers to a new sets of unusual characters and his unique descriptions of them. He never disappointed me in his out of the ordinary plots, characters and whit. I will truly miss reading more of his books.
September 18, 2018
When a solicitor named Loughbury passes away in Mumblesby, Detective Inspector Purbright attends the funeral in lieu of his superior Mr. Chubb. While there he hears a woman screaming for help and follows her to the late solicitor's home, finding not only the young widow locked in a bathroom but for some odd reason clothes strewn upon a small heater - smoldering - and a propane tank in a bedroom. He also sees something odd: a small piece of wood trapped permanently inside a steel cage that has been sealed into the wall, labeled the "True Cross". Curious indeed.
He waits until the widow, Zoe, and her mother return from the funeral before questioning her about the attempted arson. While she seems to ignore the implication that someone is attempting to murder her, Purbright decides to seek the truth of the matter and sends his detective sergeant Sidney Love to the village to see if he can discover any clues. What Love finds out is there are many unsavory characters living there, and not a appears to like Zoe, considering her no more than a concubine who was lucky enough to have been given Loughbury's entire estate. But when that estate includes objects d'art that apparently do not belong to Loughbury at all, things become even more curious than before.
When a strange "prank" befalls the widow, Purbright is determined more than ever to come to the truth of the matter, including letting the widow know that he isn't the fool she at first took him for...
This is the twelfth book in the series and I am sad to say, the last, as Mr. Watson passed away soon after writing it. I have read all of the series and have been completely satisfied with every one of them. I have to add in all honesty however, that no matter how much I tried, I could not like the character of Zoe. She seemed harsh and uncaring to me; someone who believes money can buy her an entreé into society, and otherwise will force her way in if necessary. Money can't buy class, no matter who you are or how much of it you have. She's not a person I would care to know personally.
Don't get me wrong; there are many other characters in books who were born low, married into money and were just wonderful. It was more that I thought Zoe was an opportunist, and not in a nice way. She seemed cold and calculating to me, and I don't care for that sort of person.
The rest of the book was, as always, highly entertaining and delightful to read. DI Purbright is as clever as ever, ferreting out the truth as he always does, no matter how well hidden people think they may have left it. He gets to the heart of everything by going over the evidence piece by piece, and watching him connect the dots, as it were, is the best part of each and every one of these books.
When Purbright realizes that a young woman from Mumblesby had not committed suicide as was agreed upon by both her husband and the court, it is exactly as I stated - Purbright takes the information given and parses it to discover who wanted her dead and why; he finds that the death is connected to Loughbury and several of the villagers; and he also learns that each of them have given Loughbury a very expensive item indeed; but for what reason? Is is tied to the death of the woman, who passed over a year ago? It is interesting how Purbright takes a small clue Loughbury had in his possession (along with the fact of those above-mentioned articles) and deduces the truth.
All in all, the ending, as always, leaves us with our own conjectures as to the final outcome; but it is enough to realize that justice has been done. While I am saddened that there will be no more in this series, I am heartened by the fact that I was able to read them. Recommended.
He waits until the widow, Zoe, and her mother return from the funeral before questioning her about the attempted arson. While she seems to ignore the implication that someone is attempting to murder her, Purbright decides to seek the truth of the matter and sends his detective sergeant Sidney Love to the village to see if he can discover any clues. What Love finds out is there are many unsavory characters living there, and not a appears to like Zoe, considering her no more than a concubine who was lucky enough to have been given Loughbury's entire estate. But when that estate includes objects d'art that apparently do not belong to Loughbury at all, things become even more curious than before.
When a strange "prank" befalls the widow, Purbright is determined more than ever to come to the truth of the matter, including letting the widow know that he isn't the fool she at first took him for...
This is the twelfth book in the series and I am sad to say, the last, as Mr. Watson passed away soon after writing it. I have read all of the series and have been completely satisfied with every one of them. I have to add in all honesty however, that no matter how much I tried, I could not like the character of Zoe. She seemed harsh and uncaring to me; someone who believes money can buy her an entreé into society, and otherwise will force her way in if necessary. Money can't buy class, no matter who you are or how much of it you have. She's not a person I would care to know personally.
Don't get me wrong; there are many other characters in books who were born low, married into money and were just wonderful. It was more that I thought Zoe was an opportunist, and not in a nice way. She seemed cold and calculating to me, and I don't care for that sort of person.
The rest of the book was, as always, highly entertaining and delightful to read. DI Purbright is as clever as ever, ferreting out the truth as he always does, no matter how well hidden people think they may have left it. He gets to the heart of everything by going over the evidence piece by piece, and watching him connect the dots, as it were, is the best part of each and every one of these books.
When Purbright realizes that a young woman from Mumblesby had not committed suicide as was agreed upon by both her husband and the court, it is exactly as I stated - Purbright takes the information given and parses it to discover who wanted her dead and why; he finds that the death is connected to Loughbury and several of the villagers; and he also learns that each of them have given Loughbury a very expensive item indeed; but for what reason? Is is tied to the death of the woman, who passed over a year ago? It is interesting how Purbright takes a small clue Loughbury had in his possession (along with the fact of those above-mentioned articles) and deduces the truth.
All in all, the ending, as always, leaves us with our own conjectures as to the final outcome; but it is enough to realize that justice has been done. While I am saddened that there will be no more in this series, I am heartened by the fact that I was able to read them. Recommended.
February 17, 2024
3.7 stars, with an overpriced meal at a gimmicky restaurant.
Okay, so I started a series a the end, for the second time this year.
This time I blame Methuen.
I have a bunch of these on my shelves. Collected at charity sales over the past many years. I'd read one back in the 90s and enjoyed it, so I always thought 'I'll get back to those'. And now I have. But which to read first? I opened one to try to figure out the order, and this was the one listed first in most of the copies I own. So I started it.
It was when Miss Teatime greeted Purbright like an old friend—acquaintance—nuisance—that I realised that it couldn't possibly be the first and came to look the series up here.
Tch, publishers!
But enough about my slapdash reading habits ...
I read a few of these in the 90s and recalled enjoying them. I hadn't read Mumblesby.
This one was originally published in about 1982. It shows. I found myself reading it as a period piece. And not just because attitudes (good grief! the sexism and snobbery!), technology and the general spirit of the age has changed.
There's some tone in it that just whispers to me that gentle humour isn't done like this any more. Expecting the reader to join the dots on the jokes. Which, of course, means that you need to know something of the time and place and be a highly attentive reader.
Anyhow, I like Purbright. I enjoy his gimmick of having no gimmicks. No quirks, no prejudices or eccentricities, other than sarcasm. Otherwise, he's a very polite, very perceptive Detective Inspector, who wanders around, asking questions and making mild observations. And peering under surfaces and making the necessary logical and intuitive leaps to untangle things nicely.
The method of murder is, perhaps, the main mystery, here.
We have a rough idea of who's done what to whom for quite a bit of it. When the method becomes clear, it's preposterous, outre and wonderfully inventive.
And the complete lack of surprise about the method goes wonderfully well with the perpetually wry tone of the whole.
Leaving murder aside, the satire is at various times delicate and brittle.
The farmers are copping it (as it were) in this one, along with gimmicky commerce. The intersection between new farming, old traditions, and fake rural nostalgia is a nice little humorous vein. Very subtle, though.
Okay, so I started a series a the end, for the second time this year.
This time I blame Methuen.
I have a bunch of these on my shelves. Collected at charity sales over the past many years. I'd read one back in the 90s and enjoyed it, so I always thought 'I'll get back to those'. And now I have. But which to read first? I opened one to try to figure out the order, and this was the one listed first in most of the copies I own. So I started it.
It was when Miss Teatime greeted Purbright like an old friend—acquaintance—nuisance—that I realised that it couldn't possibly be the first and came to look the series up here.
Tch, publishers!
But enough about my slapdash reading habits ...
I read a few of these in the 90s and recalled enjoying them. I hadn't read Mumblesby.
This one was originally published in about 1982. It shows. I found myself reading it as a period piece. And not just because attitudes (good grief! the sexism and snobbery!), technology and the general spirit of the age has changed.
There's some tone in it that just whispers to me that gentle humour isn't done like this any more. Expecting the reader to join the dots on the jokes. Which, of course, means that you need to know something of the time and place and be a highly attentive reader.
Anyhow, I like Purbright. I enjoy his gimmick of having no gimmicks. No quirks, no prejudices or eccentricities, other than sarcasm. Otherwise, he's a very polite, very perceptive Detective Inspector, who wanders around, asking questions and making mild observations. And peering under surfaces and making the necessary logical and intuitive leaps to untangle things nicely.
The method of murder is, perhaps, the main mystery, here.
We have a rough idea of who's done what to whom for quite a bit of it. When the method becomes clear, it's preposterous, outre and wonderfully inventive.
And the complete lack of surprise about the method goes wonderfully well with the perpetually wry tone of the whole.
Leaving murder aside, the satire is at various times delicate and brittle.
The farmers are copping it (as it were) in this one, along with gimmicky commerce. The intersection between new farming, old traditions, and fake rural nostalgia is a nice little humorous vein. Very subtle, though.
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