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Bobby Owen Mysteries #2
Death Among The Sunbathers
Description
The body of a brilliant woman journalist is recovered from the wreck of a burning car. It is soon discovered that the smash did not kill her; she was dead already, shot by a Browning automatic that was found near by. Superintendent Mitchell, with the help of Owen, a young University graduate turned policeman, follows the enigmatic clues backwards and forwards between a furrier, a picture dealer, and the establishment of a fanatical sunbathing enthusiast.
Then dramatically the story begins to repeat itself, as the persistently recurring figure of an old lag who calls himself ‘Bobs-the-boy’ carries another body out into the night.
Death Among The Sunbathers is the second of E.R. Punshon’s acclaimed Bobby Owen mysteries, first published in 1934 and part of a series which eventually spanned thirty-five novels.
This edition features a new introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.
“What is distinction? The few who achieve it step – plot or no plot – unquestioned into the first rank. We recognized it in Sherlock Holmes, and in Trent’s Last Case, in The Mystery of the Villa Rose, in the Father Brown stories and in the works of Mr. E.R. Punshon we salute it every time.” Dorothy L. Sayers
230 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1934
43 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
E.R. Punshon
73 books17 followersAka Robertson Halket.
E.R. Punshon (Ernest Robertson Punshon) (1872-1956) was an English novelist and literary critic of the early 20th century. He also wrote under the pseudonym Robertson Halket. Primarily writing on crime and deduction, he enjoyed some literary success in the 1930s and 1940s. Today, he is remembered, in the main, as the creator of Police Constable Bobby Owen, the protagonist of many of Punshon's novels. He reviewed many of Agatha Christie's novels for The Guardian on their first publication.
E.R. Punshon (Ernest Robertson Punshon) (1872-1956) was an English novelist and literary critic of the early 20th century. He also wrote under the pseudonym Robertson Halket. Primarily writing on crime and deduction, he enjoyed some literary success in the 1930s and 1940s. Today, he is remembered, in the main, as the creator of Police Constable Bobby Owen, the protagonist of many of Punshon's novels. He reviewed many of Agatha Christie's novels for The Guardian on their first publication.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 20, 2018
This is the second novel featuring Bobby Owen, following on from, “Information Received,” and published in 1934. When we first met Bobby Owen in the first in the series, he was a young Constable, eager to make his mark and move up in the force. In this novel he is more a presence than a character – obviously his reputation has made him someone to be feared and respected.
The mystery concerns the murder of a young journalist, named Jo Frankland, who had visited Leadeane Grange, home of the naturist group, ‘The Society of Sun Believers,’ when her car is seen swerving off the road by no less than Superintendent Mitchell and Inspector Ferris. What looks like a tragic accident turns into something even more sinister, when it is apparent that she was shot and a murder investigation is opened.
Before long, we have a cast of suspects and various motives. There is her husband, who argued with her at her workplace shortly before her death, art dealer, Maurice Keene, who is engaged to Jo’s sister, Sybil, but Jo was keen they delay the wedding, his acquaintance, Hunter, who owned a fur business, the rather sinister odd-job man, ‘Bobs-the-Boy,’ and those who work at the Grange.
Money problems, arson and insurance fraud are some of the possible motives, in a rather implausible storyline. Still, this is good fun and the setting of the Grange, where naturalists excite local interest, is interesting – especially as the movement was very popular at that time, so you do have a sense of learning something about that period, which is always an added bonus with Golden Age Detective fiction.
The mystery concerns the murder of a young journalist, named Jo Frankland, who had visited Leadeane Grange, home of the naturist group, ‘The Society of Sun Believers,’ when her car is seen swerving off the road by no less than Superintendent Mitchell and Inspector Ferris. What looks like a tragic accident turns into something even more sinister, when it is apparent that she was shot and a murder investigation is opened.
Before long, we have a cast of suspects and various motives. There is her husband, who argued with her at her workplace shortly before her death, art dealer, Maurice Keene, who is engaged to Jo’s sister, Sybil, but Jo was keen they delay the wedding, his acquaintance, Hunter, who owned a fur business, the rather sinister odd-job man, ‘Bobs-the-Boy,’ and those who work at the Grange.
Money problems, arson and insurance fraud are some of the possible motives, in a rather implausible storyline. Still, this is good fun and the setting of the Grange, where naturalists excite local interest, is interesting – especially as the movement was very popular at that time, so you do have a sense of learning something about that period, which is always an added bonus with Golden Age Detective fiction.
October 10, 2018
This was very entertaining. It is the second in the series, and, having not read the first, I didn't know what to expect. Usually a series is named for the lead detective, but Bobby Owen is an underling, and apparently relatively new to police work. In this installment, he is referred to frequently and his reports are received regularly with interest, but he is always off stage.
I felt characterization was the strong point. I remarked to myself more than once that the dialog was better than I might encounter in other novels of either the genre or the period. (Some should definitely be taken with humor.)
I felt characterization was the strong point. I remarked to myself more than once that the dialog was better than I might encounter in other novels of either the genre or the period. (Some should definitely be taken with humor.)
‘Educated instead,’ explained Mitchell, ‘and education just naturally chokes initiative. He’s ’Varsity and public school, you know, and you can’t expect to have an education like that and initiative as well.’Mysteries are usually just about plot and this one is good enough. It weakens for a couple of chapters midway. The last 50-60 pages are more thriller than mystery. This isn't going to rise to my 4-stars for the genre, but I'm more than willing to see it toward the top of the 3-star group.
...
‘That’s the worst of a woman, Ferris; what they mean and what they say are two things with a strictly limited connexion.’
...
‘No,’ he said, ‘don’t tell Owen to report here – tell him to come to my house at ten. But of course,’ he added with deep sarcasm, ‘only if it’s quite convenient. Give some of these youngsters their head,’ he grumbled, ‘and they seem to think they can have it all their own way for ever after. But I should like to see Owen again before he’s grown out of all recognition with the passing years.’
June 4, 2022
The second in the Bobby Owens detective series--where Owens is much talked about, but little seen. As one of the characters says:
...but he's there...all the time...that's what gets on your nerves...you never see him, but all the time you know he's there and all the time you keep hearing things...
Superintendent Mitchell and Inspector Ferris are returning to London from an interview with a very upset Lord Carripore. Carripore is the chairman of Universal Assurance, the primary insurer which has been hit hard by a series of fire claims. There is a bit of trouble with their car and while their driver sets about seeing to it, they witness a woman zip by, driving like blazes. They're not too surprised, therefore, when they hear the tell-tale sound of an accident. Quickly piling into the car, they arrive at the accident site in time to drag the woman's body from the burning car, but she's past help. They are puzzled that, despite her speed, she happened to have an accident at that particular point--the road was nice and straight. It isn't until a doctor arrives that it's revealed that she was dead before the car hit the embankment--for a gunshot.
They soon discover that the dead woman is a well-known journalist by the name of Jo Frankland and there are several possible motives. She had just been to Leadeane Grange, a kind of spa for sun worshippers (and sometimes nudists). That's a major fad just now, but not really hot news. Did something else draw her to spa? A fellow journalist seems to think she was on to a hot story. Maybe she meddled where she shouldn't have? But then there's also the huge fight she had with her husband and it appears that he was in the area at the right time. He was also seen to wave a Browning automatic around during the argument. His wife just happens to have been shot with a Browning automatic--and he has disappeared. There is also Maurice Keene, the young man her sister has been seeing. And Jo Frankland was actively trying to break that relationship up. He was also at the Grange that afternoon. Was that worth killing for? There's an old lag named Bobs-the--Boy hanging about as well. Why is he doing odd jobs for the Grange...and for Horace Hunter, a dealer in furs? Has Bobs-the-Boy started dealing in murder? And what about the mysterious motorcycle rider who had an argument with her on the road that day? He too has most conveniently disappeared right after their altercation.
While Mitchell and Ferris interview the suspects and follow the clues in the usual way, Bobby Owens is following his own line and keeping a low profile. He sends in regular reports to Mitchell with "information received" through his less obvious means of investigation. And, of course, he's johnny-on-the-spot when it comes time to round up the culprit/s.
So, despite this receiving a fairly positive review from Dorothy L. Sayers in her crime reviews (her main complaint is that we see far more of the villainous side of things than we do of Superintendent Mitchell and, most definitely, Bobby Owens), I found this to be far less engaging than Information Received (the first Bobby Owens book). I agree with Sayers that the format which focuses on the criminal/s is less than ideal and I was not fooled for a moment by activities of Bobby Owens. [to say more would let several cats out of the bag] I did appreciate the way all the plot threads were tied together and thoroughly enjoyed all the time we did get to spend with Mitchell and Ferris (though if Mitchell had said that something would "bear looking into" one more more time....). Overall, a solid plot and it was quite clever of Mitchell to spot the initial clue as to when Jo Frankland was killed.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
...but he's there...all the time...that's what gets on your nerves...you never see him, but all the time you know he's there and all the time you keep hearing things...
Superintendent Mitchell and Inspector Ferris are returning to London from an interview with a very upset Lord Carripore. Carripore is the chairman of Universal Assurance, the primary insurer which has been hit hard by a series of fire claims. There is a bit of trouble with their car and while their driver sets about seeing to it, they witness a woman zip by, driving like blazes. They're not too surprised, therefore, when they hear the tell-tale sound of an accident. Quickly piling into the car, they arrive at the accident site in time to drag the woman's body from the burning car, but she's past help. They are puzzled that, despite her speed, she happened to have an accident at that particular point--the road was nice and straight. It isn't until a doctor arrives that it's revealed that she was dead before the car hit the embankment--for a gunshot.
They soon discover that the dead woman is a well-known journalist by the name of Jo Frankland and there are several possible motives. She had just been to Leadeane Grange, a kind of spa for sun worshippers (and sometimes nudists). That's a major fad just now, but not really hot news. Did something else draw her to spa? A fellow journalist seems to think she was on to a hot story. Maybe she meddled where she shouldn't have? But then there's also the huge fight she had with her husband and it appears that he was in the area at the right time. He was also seen to wave a Browning automatic around during the argument. His wife just happens to have been shot with a Browning automatic--and he has disappeared. There is also Maurice Keene, the young man her sister has been seeing. And Jo Frankland was actively trying to break that relationship up. He was also at the Grange that afternoon. Was that worth killing for? There's an old lag named Bobs-the--Boy hanging about as well. Why is he doing odd jobs for the Grange...and for Horace Hunter, a dealer in furs? Has Bobs-the-Boy started dealing in murder? And what about the mysterious motorcycle rider who had an argument with her on the road that day? He too has most conveniently disappeared right after their altercation.
While Mitchell and Ferris interview the suspects and follow the clues in the usual way, Bobby Owens is following his own line and keeping a low profile. He sends in regular reports to Mitchell with "information received" through his less obvious means of investigation. And, of course, he's johnny-on-the-spot when it comes time to round up the culprit/s.
So, despite this receiving a fairly positive review from Dorothy L. Sayers in her crime reviews (her main complaint is that we see far more of the villainous side of things than we do of Superintendent Mitchell and, most definitely, Bobby Owens), I found this to be far less engaging than Information Received (the first Bobby Owens book). I agree with Sayers that the format which focuses on the criminal/s is less than ideal and I was not fooled for a moment by activities of Bobby Owens. [to say more would let several cats out of the bag] I did appreciate the way all the plot threads were tied together and thoroughly enjoyed all the time we did get to spend with Mitchell and Ferris (though if Mitchell had said that something would "bear looking into" one more more time....). Overall, a solid plot and it was quite clever of Mitchell to spot the initial clue as to when Jo Frankland was killed.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
September 4, 2016
After thoroughly enjoying the first in the Bobby Owen series, I had high hopes for this second entry in the series, but found it a bit of a disappointment. It starts off very well, with enjoyably witty prose, and it was great to meet Superintendent Mitchell again, still saying everything will "bear looking into".
The setting, at a 1930s "sunbathing club", with new-fangled sun lamps and an area for nude sunbathers, is also fun. But after the first few chapters the plot takes a series of unlikely turns and becomes increasingly far-fetched, and I felt as if it all fizzles out a bit. I'll still look forward to reading more in the series, though.
The setting, at a 1930s "sunbathing club", with new-fangled sun lamps and an area for nude sunbathers, is also fun. But after the first few chapters the plot takes a series of unlikely turns and becomes increasingly far-fetched, and I felt as if it all fizzles out a bit. I'll still look forward to reading more in the series, though.
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February 3, 2018In the first book of this series, Bobby Owens is introduced as a solid young policeman who gets by through persistence and luck rather than brilliance or "Sherlock Holmes" types of approaches to cases.
So in this book Owens employed a classic Holmesian strategy. It is one I guessed fairly early, but was well-done in the story.
While this series has yet to make me care about any of the characters, it is better-done than most of the early lesser-known golden age mysteries that I've been reading recently.
So in this book Owens employed a classic Holmesian strategy. It is one I guessed fairly early, but was well-done in the story.
While this series has yet to make me care about any of the characters, it is better-done than most of the early lesser-known golden age mysteries that I've been reading recently.
August 2, 2017
The mystery itself played second fiddle to the tedium of Too Much Talking. Excessively repetitive plot exposition, hashing and rehashing of character's actions, sentiments, complaints, fears - this book was painful to read. It was a weak, fairly implausible story to begin with, but the many out-of-the-blue mentions that were inexplicable until chapters later and the character twist at the end that was easy to figure out earlier on were mere nuisances compared to the pages upon pages of characters repeating themselves to others, many times those they'd already expressed their thoughts to. In the second half of the book there is a one-room orgy of conversation that makes Ayn Rand's 60-page John Galt speech in "Atlas Shrugged" seem like a nice cheerful coffee break. If this had been my first Bobby Owens book, it would be my last.
February 28, 2018
the rating for this book only just reached 3 stars really (2 stars for me = really had to push myself to complete the book).
the first novel in the series was interesting and I was looking forward to seeing developments of both the main character/s and the mystery story as the series progressed.
however this second novel I found simply okay.
the murder mystery itself seemed very ordinary, and the 'trick' of having the series character missing from the majority of the novel was a bit cheeky for only the 2nd novel in a series - it would have been better saved for using after at least 5 stories had been told in my opinion.
the bulk of the novel was therefore carried by Owens' superior officers who appeared much more as expected this time around - one seems to want him cut down to size a bit whilst the other switches between exasperation at his newest officer ignoring the rules and thinking he is doing good work for a newly minted officer.
so overall an okay novel but nothing special I think as far as the characters and mystery is concerned. The quality of the writing itself was very good, easy to read and follow but overall lacking 'something'.
the first novel in the series was interesting and I was looking forward to seeing developments of both the main character/s and the mystery story as the series progressed.
however this second novel I found simply okay.
the murder mystery itself seemed very ordinary, and the 'trick' of having the series character missing from the majority of the novel was a bit cheeky for only the 2nd novel in a series - it would have been better saved for using after at least 5 stories had been told in my opinion.
the bulk of the novel was therefore carried by Owens' superior officers who appeared much more as expected this time around - one seems to want him cut down to size a bit whilst the other switches between exasperation at his newest officer ignoring the rules and thinking he is doing good work for a newly minted officer.
so overall an okay novel but nothing special I think as far as the characters and mystery is concerned. The quality of the writing itself was very good, easy to read and follow but overall lacking 'something'.
September 24, 2018
After reading the first Bobby Owen story, I had high hopes for this one but was very disappointed. There was lots of repetition throughout , and I saw through the mystery from very early on. The use of a completely different name might have helped the cause. At least at the end the author did say that any fool could have worked it all out, and this fool obviously did!
June 18, 2025
Weird, weird, weird, weird, weird. The first half, great, my usual 4 stars for a book I'm enjoying. And then it goes completely off the rails in the second half, plummeting to 2 stars, so this is an average.
What's so weird? A few things, somewhat related. First: one expects Bobby Owen in a Bobby Owen mystery. Rightly or Wrongly, this is so. I know some were disappointed by Miss Marple's late appearance in The Moving Finger, but it didn't bother me there. Here, however, it's another matter.
It feels like this is a movie, and the star is refusing to come to set, so they mention him, over and over again, but he never appears. Other characters discuss him. Mitchell seems to like him. The other policeman is less enthusiastic. We can't decide for ourselves, because he's not there. But this isn't a movie, it doesn't cost any more to write about him, so why isn't he there?
And it gets odder as it goes along, because you hear second-hand that he's been interviewing this person, that person. One of the suspects says he's been interviewing "his girl," by which I think he means secretary, not girlfriend. Do we see those scenes? No.
Finally, the extra-weird bit. About half-way through, maybe just slightly later, multiple characters start obsessing over this person, Bobby Owen, That They Have Never Met and Yet Somehow Know About, and it turns into Waiting for Godot but Hoping He Doesn't Show Up. In one sense it's completely awesome, because it's early in the Golden Age and you get a sense of a writer thinking "there are no rules yet, maybe this is how a mystery could be written," but instead of becoming the Citizen Kane of mystery novels it's sort of the Science Crazed of mystery novels, it doesn't work.
It was at about this point that I figured out the central secret of the novel as well, so without needing the mystery cleared up any more, and not wanting Godot when I'd been expecting a light mystery novel, I pretty much fast-forwarded all the rest. I can read Very Quickly when I'm just trying to get to the end, believe you me.
I'm not giving up on the series: I think he's an interesting writer, and he's demonstrated twice now in his first two books his willingness to take chances. Hopefully he gets better at making those pay off.
And I love reading about prior times, and getting a sense of the mores of the day. Men could be arrested for public indecency for sunbathing shirtless in Hyde Park? Who knew?
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
What's so weird? A few things, somewhat related. First: one expects Bobby Owen in a Bobby Owen mystery. Rightly or Wrongly, this is so. I know some were disappointed by Miss Marple's late appearance in The Moving Finger, but it didn't bother me there. Here, however, it's another matter.
It feels like this is a movie, and the star is refusing to come to set, so they mention him, over and over again, but he never appears. Other characters discuss him. Mitchell seems to like him. The other policeman is less enthusiastic. We can't decide for ourselves, because he's not there. But this isn't a movie, it doesn't cost any more to write about him, so why isn't he there?
And it gets odder as it goes along, because you hear second-hand that he's been interviewing this person, that person. One of the suspects says he's been interviewing "his girl," by which I think he means secretary, not girlfriend. Do we see those scenes? No.
Finally, the extra-weird bit. About half-way through, maybe just slightly later, multiple characters start obsessing over this person, Bobby Owen, That They Have Never Met and Yet Somehow Know About, and it turns into Waiting for Godot but Hoping He Doesn't Show Up. In one sense it's completely awesome, because it's early in the Golden Age and you get a sense of a writer thinking "there are no rules yet, maybe this is how a mystery could be written," but instead of becoming the Citizen Kane of mystery novels it's sort of the Science Crazed of mystery novels, it doesn't work.
It was at about this point that I figured out the central secret of the novel as well, so without needing the mystery cleared up any more, and not wanting Godot when I'd been expecting a light mystery novel, I pretty much fast-forwarded all the rest. I can read Very Quickly when I'm just trying to get to the end, believe you me.
I'm not giving up on the series: I think he's an interesting writer, and he's demonstrated twice now in his first two books his willingness to take chances. Hopefully he gets better at making those pay off.
And I love reading about prior times, and getting a sense of the mores of the day. Men could be arrested for public indecency for sunbathing shirtless in Hyde Park? Who knew?
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
November 19, 2019
Punshon is an author from a by-gone era, but his whodunits, featuring Bobby Owen, never became as famous among readers in the United States as they did in Britain. I for one am glad they've survived the decades and appreciate the friend who brought them to my attention.
Each book is unique, there is no formula to the problems presented.
In this case the reader most likely has a pretty good indication midway through of who killed the ambitious lady reporter, and that there is a whole lot of shady business going on with the sunbather's club.
What keeps you reading is not only seeing exactly how the murder is carried out, but also a lurking suspicion there is something else going on, some other evil.....
The author keeps the main character out of sight on this one. But he's there, continually making himself known.
Punshon's writing has probably not been re-edited to any great extent, and it is peppered with long sentences and tons of commas. It takes a little getting used to.
Each book is unique, there is no formula to the problems presented.
In this case the reader most likely has a pretty good indication midway through of who killed the ambitious lady reporter, and that there is a whole lot of shady business going on with the sunbather's club.
What keeps you reading is not only seeing exactly how the murder is carried out, but also a lurking suspicion there is something else going on, some other evil.....
The author keeps the main character out of sight on this one. But he's there, continually making himself known.
Punshon's writing has probably not been re-edited to any great extent, and it is peppered with long sentences and tons of commas. It takes a little getting used to.
February 23, 2021
Ultimately in the end an enjoyable adventure story from E.R. Punshon. However it was never made clear by the author that the sunbathers were in fact nudists. Luckily this was cleared up by the introduction. Near the nudist camp at Leadene Grange, Superintendent Mitchell and Inspector Ferris come across the body of Inquirer journalist Jo Frankland in a burned out car. After closer inspection they discover Frankland has also been shot. Bobby Owen, now a Detective Constable is heard of in conversation with his role not explained until the end but regular crime fiction readers should figure out his role quite early on. The book lacks any real investigation but that shouldn't be held against "Death Among the Sunbathers".
June 10, 2025
This is less a mystery than a thriller/adventure in a style that reminds me of Edgar Wallace. The facts of the crime are casually revealed to the reader about 2/3 of the way through the book. There is a different reveal left until the last few pages, one which is a fairly clever idea for pulling the reader's leg, but one which I think most readers will figure out for themselves before that point. The author had unfortunately a somewhat heavy hand in setting this up, and that tends to give it all away.
I don't want to say any more for fear of spoilers. It's quite a brisk read, and of course our friends Mitchell and Ferris are hanging around, complaining that they never see Owen! You might feel the same way.
I don't want to say any more for fear of spoilers. It's quite a brisk read, and of course our friends Mitchell and Ferris are hanging around, complaining that they never see Owen! You might feel the same way.
February 4, 2019
Fun 1930s English mystery and interesting depiction of the culture of the time: sunbathing being a popular term for naturism/nudism at the time.
I only just discovered the Bobby Owen detective series thanks to its re-release on Kindle and I'm enjoying the characters and the mysteries. If you're looking for something to read after Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, this series, with its sense of quiet humor, might be more to your alley than some of the other recently revived mystery writers like John Bude and Freeman Wills Crofts.
I only just discovered the Bobby Owen detective series thanks to its re-release on Kindle and I'm enjoying the characters and the mysteries. If you're looking for something to read after Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, this series, with its sense of quiet humor, might be more to your alley than some of the other recently revived mystery writers like John Bude and Freeman Wills Crofts.
March 31, 2018
I'll follow Bobby Owen Mysteries for some time. At least till I get tired of them. For now, they have been satisfying. This one has a very ingenious mystery/plot. I like Bobby, but I also like Superintendent Mitchell. This is the traditional detective story from the British Golden Age. The British Library was very right in bringing back these forgotten books. Otherwise I'd still think that Agatha Christie was the only one to write good stories. There are others.
May 29, 2025
I am quite enamored of this Golden Age author. There is something about the writing of this period that I find so superior to most of the murder mysteries of today. It might have something to do with the Detective Club started by Agatha Christie and her fellow writers that sought to bring the genre into the literary field. At any rate, I am so happy to find writing of this quality with interesting characters, well thought out and surprising plots and lots of tongue in cheek moments of humor to let you know it never takes itself too seriously.
December 27, 2018
The body of a young woman journalist is found in a car crash. Soon it is discovered that she was killed by a gun. She has also been at a sunbathers place (a nudist organization). And there are other shady dealings going on. Can Superintendent Mitchell and Bobby Owen figure out what really happened?
Well-written classic mystery. Interesting with the fad of nude sunbathing at the time.
Well-written classic mystery. Interesting with the fad of nude sunbathing at the time.
August 7, 2022
Complex with great plot twist
This golden age murder mystery starts with an auto accident that is no accident. Throw a sunbather resort, mysterious fires, and some hard up businesses into the mix. Add a creepy ex con with a grudge against Owen and you get a good, though dated, thriller. Highly recommended.
This golden age murder mystery starts with an auto accident that is no accident. Throw a sunbather resort, mysterious fires, and some hard up businesses into the mix. Add a creepy ex con with a grudge against Owen and you get a good, though dated, thriller. Highly recommended.
January 2, 2025
This is a very odd story. A journalist is murdered after having visited a naturist colony, and Bobby Own and Superintendent Mitchell try to find out why. It is fairly obvious quite early on in the story who the crooks are,there is a quite ridiculous masquerade, and it is really more of a thriller than a detective story. It was not really satisfactory. I hope the next one is better.
March 29, 2024
I'd probably prefer to give it three and a half. Towards the end the narrative becomes repetitive and monotonous but if you stick with it there is an unexpected twist near the end that will make it worthwhile.
August 14, 2017
Disappointing
As a who dun it it lacked mystery
As a thriller it lacked excitement
V poor denouement
As a who dun it it lacked mystery
As a thriller it lacked excitement
V poor denouement
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2020
I enjoyed this one, but not as much as the first in the series. The plot was solid, but the story dragged a bit. I have since read numbers 4 and 5 in the series and those are much stronger. Second book in the series, but still an enjoyable read.
June 28, 2022
Very obvious and intensely irritating. 😠
May 30, 2025
This second in the Bobby Owen series is not as strong as the first. However it's redeemed by some tense later chapters and a fantastic twist I didn't see coming.
May 30, 2017
Dorothy L Sayers said in one her newspaper reviews that Punshon could always be relied on to give a good story. I agree with her. I am reading them in chronological order which I feel is better to follow Bobby Owen's progress.
Difficult to review properly without giving the game away but a novel plot with a trace of wit that I found very enjoyable.
Difficult to review properly without giving the game away but a novel plot with a trace of wit that I found very enjoyable.
November 4, 2025
Quite an interesting idea to have an Owen mystery from which the new Detective Constable is absent except that he’s on the mind of his colleagues and criminals alike.
Superintendent Mitchell and DI Ferris witness a woman driving recklessly and are first on the scene when her car plunges into a railway cutting. Mitchell is moved by her mute appeal to him before she expires and the presence of a bullet in her body triggers a murder investigation. Jo Frankland, an investigative journalist, who works from an ultra-modern newspaper building in Fleet Street where ‘a superb house telephone system enables every member of the staff to communicate with anyone else in the building without leaving his desk, and it is often possible to ring up the man in the room across the corridor opposite yours, and then get up and go and have your talk with him, and come back again to find you have already been put through.’ She was driving away from a club where believers indulge in sunbathing - a genuine craze that seems unworthy of her attention as being a bit passé. Mitchell discovers that her husband was near the scene as was another motorcyclist who seems untraceable. Jo’s sister is engaged to a rather unsuitable art dealer and Jo has been trying to split them up. The fiancé was also in the area meeting a dubious fur trader; both of their businesses were doing badly. What were they plotting? What was Jo trying to find out? Mitchell conducts a textbook police procedural from ‘a large desk, of the very latest pattern, provided with all those latest conveniences which make mislaying the document you specially require so fatally easy,’ but the family and the sunbathing entrepreneurs are unhelpful. He allows Owen to conduct his own shadowy and intimidating investigation of the businesses while getting irritated by Owen’s physical absence. Meanwhile it appears that a dentally-challenged rogue known locally as Bob’s the Boy is intimately involved, has it in for Owen, and may hold the key to the mystery.
Superintendent Mitchell and DI Ferris witness a woman driving recklessly and are first on the scene when her car plunges into a railway cutting. Mitchell is moved by her mute appeal to him before she expires and the presence of a bullet in her body triggers a murder investigation. Jo Frankland, an investigative journalist, who works from an ultra-modern newspaper building in Fleet Street where ‘a superb house telephone system enables every member of the staff to communicate with anyone else in the building without leaving his desk, and it is often possible to ring up the man in the room across the corridor opposite yours, and then get up and go and have your talk with him, and come back again to find you have already been put through.’ She was driving away from a club where believers indulge in sunbathing - a genuine craze that seems unworthy of her attention as being a bit passé. Mitchell discovers that her husband was near the scene as was another motorcyclist who seems untraceable. Jo’s sister is engaged to a rather unsuitable art dealer and Jo has been trying to split them up. The fiancé was also in the area meeting a dubious fur trader; both of their businesses were doing badly. What were they plotting? What was Jo trying to find out? Mitchell conducts a textbook police procedural from ‘a large desk, of the very latest pattern, provided with all those latest conveniences which make mislaying the document you specially require so fatally easy,’ but the family and the sunbathing entrepreneurs are unhelpful. He allows Owen to conduct his own shadowy and intimidating investigation of the businesses while getting irritated by Owen’s physical absence. Meanwhile it appears that a dentally-challenged rogue known locally as Bob’s the Boy is intimately involved, has it in for Owen, and may hold the key to the mystery.
May 10, 2016
Really enjoyed this one even though Bobby Owen doesn't really show up until the last chapter. Seems weird to have your main protagonist "off screen" for most of the book, but the exquisite complexity of the crime, the murder of a female journalist, mixed in with an arson investigation and an array of interesting characters shows Owen's supervisor, Mitchell, at his best and most frustrating. And the way Owen himself becomes bigger than life to the various suspects who have never seen him is extraordinary. Amazing writing!
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