The Case of the Accomplished Accomplice

by P.J. Fitzsimmons

Golden-age gadabout, amateur sleuth, and canny counsellor to his kin and kind, Anty Boisjoly, finds himself an accomplished accomplice when his simple solution for being in two places at once leads to an impossible, locked-room murder.
This out-of-series conspiracy query is a post-haste short case featuring a full complement of singular suspects, mysterious motives, the returning repertory of the weary Inspector Wittersham and Anty’s vague valet Vickers, and a pointer-setter named Pointsetter.
The Case of the Accompliced Accomplice is currently available for free exclusively to subscribers to the Anty Boisjoly Teddy Quillfeather Intermittent Newsletter.

163 pages, Paperback

Published July 7, 2026

About the author

I’m a freelance ghost for mainstream genres but when I’m my own man I write strictly for the laughs. I dream of an alternative reality in which PG Wodehouse wrote locked room mysteries, and in which I’m PG Wodehouse.

Reviews

[ShanDizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The facts as we know them are that Sir Marmaduke Pinshilling died alone in this room, locked from the inside, on Tuesday afternoon," I introduced. "He was murdered, we now know, by someone here with us now...At the time, all keys to this room and this house were either in the victim's pocket or miles away at Twitlark Towers, in possession of Ditteridge and Mowbray. Even the tea and honey and cups and kettle were locked up. Sir Marmaduke couldn't and wouldn't have made his own tea and he certainly wouldn't have make it with honey. Someone else must have done it, which means that someone else must have been here, even though that was clearly impossible."

[Teddi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only available to newsletter subscribers.
A good story even if it is shorter than usual. I was happy that there was less of Anty's side tracked ramblings that always seem (to me anyway) just bulk to skip over.
I much prefer the Anty books to the author's other series. Hoping for more to come.

[Daryl P Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novella nobbles Anty's antics with trite tropes.

I have raved about all the previous books featuring Anthony Boisjoly (Anty to his friends), but this left me a little disappointed. The author admits it's half his usual offering and has a locked room mystery, a bemused police inspector, an animal distraction and an abundance of suspects and motives with everyone gathered to reveal the answer. For me, it was too plot driven with a recurring theme of doppelgangers or stand-ins with the complication of two houses of similar names at either end of a bridleway. Anty finds himself affianced (yet again), yet doesn't rail against the impact this would have on his man about town freedoms. I liked the diversions into classics and the lessons they can show us about life and relationships, but there was a lack of friction between Anty and the law. Too much plot and not enough dazzle and charm made me feel Anty had lost his fizz. The title is too revealing of the solution, which is also an old trope despite some ambiguity introduced at the end. Still, an entertaining and enjoyable read, but not the best example.

I received a free copy from the author, and am voluntarily leaving this review.

[Athena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anty et al. hold a special place in my heart and this installment continued the proud tradition of making me feel rather stupid for not figuring out the mystery.

There's a delightfully witty constable, a charming animal companion, and long-suffering Ivor. Anty seems less flamboyant and exuberant than in previous books, but he's still endowed with great powers of investigation and obfuscation.

On an editing note, I was upset when the "bridle path" became "bridal path" and remained so the rest of the book.

[Natalie Kapuler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reliably delightful!