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Chief Inspector Littlejohn #3
Death of a Busybody
The eponymous nosy parker in Death of a Busybody is Miss Ethel Tither. She has made herself deeply unpopular in the quintessentially English village of Hilary Magna, since she goes out of her way to snoop on people, and interfere with their lives. On being introduced to her, the seasoned reader of detective stories will spot a murder victim in the making. Sure enough, by the end of chapter one, this unpleasant lady has met an extremely unpleasant fate. She is found floating in a cesspool, having been bludgeoned prior to drowning in the drainage water. This is, in every way, a murky business; realising that they are out of their depth, the local police quickly call in the Yard. Inspector Thomas Littlejohn, George Bellairs' series detective, arrives on the train, and in casting around for suspects, he finds that he is spoiled for choice. The amiable vicar supplies him with a map showing the scene of the crime; maps were a popular feature of traditional whodunnits for many years, and Bellairs occasionally included them in his books, as he does here.
287 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1942
179 people are currently reading
743 people want to read
About the author
George Bellairs
74 books100 followersAKA Hilary Landon
George Bellairs is the nom de plume of Harold Blundell, a crime writer and bank manager born in Heywood, near Rochdale, Lancashire, who settled in the Isle of Man on retirement. He wrote more than 50 books, most featuring the series' detective Inspector Littlejohn. He also wrote four novels under the alternative pseudonym Hilary Landon.
George Bellairs is the nom de plume of Harold Blundell, a crime writer and bank manager born in Heywood, near Rochdale, Lancashire, who settled in the Isle of Man on retirement. He wrote more than 50 books, most featuring the series' detective Inspector Littlejohn. He also wrote four novels under the alternative pseudonym Hilary Landon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 221 reviews
July 31, 2017
I was unfamiliar with George Bellairs, who wrote several dozen cozies over four decades featuring Scotland Yard detective Thomas Littlejohn. Poison Pen Press has reissued the third in the series, Death of a Busybody, and I hope they reissue the entire lot! George Bellairs deserves to be rescued from obscurity.
Miss Ethel Tither, the eponymous busybody, takes it upon herself to be God’s scourge on earth to ferret out moral turpitude in all of its guises. From the irreligious to lazy scalawags to the good-time girls (and their secret sugar daddies), there are plenty in the village of Hilary Magna and environs who are glad she’s dead. But which one of the villagers was desperate enough to shut her up permanently?
The first third of the novel plods along a bit too predictably; however, after that, Bellairs (née Harold Blundell) lards the novel with plenty of twists and surprises. I never saw the end coming. Here’s to hoping that there will be more reissues soon.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I received this book free from NetGalley, Poison Pen Press, and British Library Publishing in return for an honest review.
Miss Ethel Tither, the eponymous busybody, takes it upon herself to be God’s scourge on earth to ferret out moral turpitude in all of its guises. From the irreligious to lazy scalawags to the good-time girls (and their secret sugar daddies), there are plenty in the village of Hilary Magna and environs who are glad she’s dead. But which one of the villagers was desperate enough to shut her up permanently?
The first third of the novel plods along a bit too predictably; however, after that, Bellairs (née Harold Blundell) lards the novel with plenty of twists and surprises. I never saw the end coming. Here’s to hoping that there will be more reissues soon.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I received this book free from NetGalley, Poison Pen Press, and British Library Publishing in return for an honest review.
September 12, 2020
This was a great village mystery and I'm so glad for the British Library Crime Classics including it in their reissues because I can't imagine I'd have come across it any other way!
The village of Hilary Magna has a grisly murder on their hands. The titular busybody is Miss Tither and a more disagreeable woman would likely be difficult to find. She's made everyone else's business hers and also was on a one-woman crusade to rid the village of any ills she rooted out. At long last, she's found concussed and drowned in a cesspit. A grisly end. So it falls to Scotland Yard's Inspector Thomas Littlejohn, Sergeant Cromwell and P.C. Harriwinckle to investigate and find out the Why and Who did the deed. There is no shortage of suspects and that made for a good read.
I won't spoil the solution but it came together so well and provided a fun puzzle to try and solve along with the investigators as the story went along. Additionally, I very much cared about how things resolved for some of the villagers and was glad there's a bit at the end sharing that. Points also for some very memorable names used: Ethelred Claplady and Athelstan Wynard. And honourable mention to all the meals recounted, from the cringeworthy chitterlings P.C. Harriwinkle favours to roast beef, roast pork, various dumplings, suet and Yorkshire pudding, a fine repast was had by many.
I so enjoyed this and at the end of the book, there's a little biography of George Bellairs and a mention of his website. I signed up for a newsletter & even got a free book download of his Corpses in Enderby (book 22 in the series featuring Inspector Littlejohn), so I'll definitely be reading that.
Recommended.
Favourite passages:
"Miss Tither was a campaigner as well. Her weapon was her tongue, which she used like a pair of bellows, fanning a spark of a whisper into a consuming fire of chatter, a holocaust of pursuing flame."
"Carradine, the Coroner, is in a rare temper about another inquest in Hilary Magna. He detests the place for some reason and seems to think the natives are doing it on purpose to spite him."
"Mr. Crabtree's father, an ex-member of the Trentshire Yeomanry, had desired for his son a high army rank which his means were inadequate to procure. He, therefore, gave him Major as a Christian name, by which he had been known all his life, except during a spell as a conscript in the army, when he ordered to assume the name of Wilfred by an outraged sergeant-major."
The village of Hilary Magna has a grisly murder on their hands. The titular busybody is Miss Tither and a more disagreeable woman would likely be difficult to find. She's made everyone else's business hers and also was on a one-woman crusade to rid the village of any ills she rooted out. At long last, she's found concussed and drowned in a cesspit. A grisly end. So it falls to Scotland Yard's Inspector Thomas Littlejohn, Sergeant Cromwell and P.C. Harriwinckle to investigate and find out the Why and Who did the deed. There is no shortage of suspects and that made for a good read.
I won't spoil the solution but it came together so well and provided a fun puzzle to try and solve along with the investigators as the story went along. Additionally, I very much cared about how things resolved for some of the villagers and was glad there's a bit at the end sharing that. Points also for some very memorable names used: Ethelred Claplady and Athelstan Wynard. And honourable mention to all the meals recounted, from the cringeworthy chitterlings P.C. Harriwinkle favours to roast beef, roast pork, various dumplings, suet and Yorkshire pudding, a fine repast was had by many.
I so enjoyed this and at the end of the book, there's a little biography of George Bellairs and a mention of his website. I signed up for a newsletter & even got a free book download of his Corpses in Enderby (book 22 in the series featuring Inspector Littlejohn), so I'll definitely be reading that.
Recommended.
Favourite passages:
"Miss Tither was a campaigner as well. Her weapon was her tongue, which she used like a pair of bellows, fanning a spark of a whisper into a consuming fire of chatter, a holocaust of pursuing flame."
"Carradine, the Coroner, is in a rare temper about another inquest in Hilary Magna. He detests the place for some reason and seems to think the natives are doing it on purpose to spite him."
"Mr. Crabtree's father, an ex-member of the Trentshire Yeomanry, had desired for his son a high army rank which his means were inadequate to procure. He, therefore, gave him Major as a Christian name, by which he had been known all his life, except during a spell as a conscript in the army, when he ordered to assume the name of Wilfred by an outraged sergeant-major."
July 15, 2019
The busybody of the title is Miss Ethel Tither, the self-righteous scourge of Hilary Magna, who sniffs out scandals, demands that sinners repent, and bombards villagers with religious tracts. Soon she is found murdered, facedown in the vicarage cesspool. Of course, there are plenty of suspects, and it's up to Scotland Yard's Inspector Littlejohn, with the help of the local policemen, to find the killer.
This gem, first published in 1942, is one of the classic mysteries recently reissued by British Library Crime Classics and Poisoned Pen Press.
George Bellairs had a great sense of humor. There are some hilarious scenes, and I enjoyed the names of many of the characters. For example, the vicar's name is Ethelred Claplady!
I look forward to reading more of Bellairs' mysteries, as well as those by other authors of the golden age.
This gem, first published in 1942, is one of the classic mysteries recently reissued by British Library Crime Classics and Poisoned Pen Press.
George Bellairs had a great sense of humor. There are some hilarious scenes, and I enjoyed the names of many of the characters. For example, the vicar's name is Ethelred Claplady!
I look forward to reading more of Bellairs' mysteries, as well as those by other authors of the golden age.
January 4, 2022
3.5 really. A delightful cozy mystery. Although set in a English village say 50 years ago. I did find it surprisingly hard to keep track of the large number if characters. Swindlers were around - even then.
October 21, 2021
Death of a Busybody (1942) is the third of a series of nearly sixty mystery books featuring Inspector (later Chief Inspector, etc.) Thomas Littlejohn, published between 1941 and 1980.
Death of a Busybody brings us to one of twin villages, Hilary Magna (the other being Hilary Parva), where the skinny and scholarly vicar, Rev. Ethelred Claplady (who keeps bees and is working on a tome on apiculture) spots from his window, the local busybody Miss Ethel Tither, haranguing atheist Mr Haxley and attempting to ‘convert’ him. Later in the day, Miss Tither’s body is found, face down in the cesspit of the vicarage. The local Inspector Oldfield has a lot on his hands, and the Chief Constable, Sir Francis Winstanley decides to call in Scotland Yard; and so it happens that Littlejohn is sent in.
Littlejohn, assisted by the local PC Samuel Harriwinckle (Oldfield checks in now and then, but is mostly occupied with other cases) begins to investigate. The residents at Hillary Magna are friendly and willing to cooperate and Littlejohn also finds that staying at the pub, The Bell, has its advantages for he can also overhear local gossip and identify various threads to follow. It emerges that many in Hilary Magna had a reason to do away with Miss Tither. Miss Tither not only sniffed out all the ‘scandal’ in the village but used her tongue freely to try to ‘reform’ ‘sinners’, besides also constantly badgering the poor Reverend to intervene. As a consequence, many in the village bore her a grudge and she had been at the receiving end of threats. In addition, her relative and heir, Rev Wynyard may have been keeping the real nature of his work from her, finding out which had been a shock to her (nothing horrifying but just not as pious as she’d been under the impression it was), and led her to consider altering her will. Speaking to people connected and unconnected with Miss Tither, Littlejohn begins to piece together the mystery, while in London, his deputy DS Cromwell (who thinks of his illustrious namesake when posed with a conundrum) takes on inquiries to assist the investigation.
This was my first time reading Bellairs (whom I only found out about through Rekha at the Book Decoder (https://thebookdecoder.com/2021/10/18...), who simply loves these books), and I thought it a wonderful read. My favourite elements of the book were its setting and characters. Bellairs paints a vivid picture of the village and its inhabitants. Each character, major or minor, is excellently drawn out—we get a look at their natures, idiosyncrasies, eccentricities; we learn their backstories; and their relationships with one another. Among my favourites was Mr Thornbush (courting Miss Tither’s maid, Sarah Russell), who sprouts psalms at the drop of a hat (much to Littlejohn’s annoyance; though on a fun note, Littlejohn ‘hears’ brass and cymbals each time this happens). Also, Constable Harriwincle who loves his food, and puffs up with pride at the important task he has been given and at having to assist a Scotland Yard man; he does his work sincerely, in fact even taking the initiative to track down information and follow up on leads, and I was really pleased with how things turned out for him (He reminded me in a way of Strawberry from Richard Adams’ Watership Down when he helped his friends and was filled with pride at having done so).
The village too comes across really well with dynamics between people, the little details of daily life like the harvest (and sadly also the shooting of rabbits and other ‘vermin’ alongside); preparations for harvest services at the church; and being wartime, blackout every evening.
As far as the mystery was concerned, there were indeed several suspects, and like a police procedural, we come upon information as Littlejohn goes around talking to different people. Re whodunit, once Littlejohn spoke to one of the characters, I could pretty much guess the who, but there was still a surprise in the plot I hadn’t seen coming at all (in fact, more than one), and some other aspects of the story that I could work out only along the way.
Overall this turned out to be a lovely read with humour in the writing and well fleshed out characters, also a mystery that kept me engaged, even if I did guess parts of it. I’m certainly looking forward to reading more Bellairs soon.
Death of a Busybody brings us to one of twin villages, Hilary Magna (the other being Hilary Parva), where the skinny and scholarly vicar, Rev. Ethelred Claplady (who keeps bees and is working on a tome on apiculture) spots from his window, the local busybody Miss Ethel Tither, haranguing atheist Mr Haxley and attempting to ‘convert’ him. Later in the day, Miss Tither’s body is found, face down in the cesspit of the vicarage. The local Inspector Oldfield has a lot on his hands, and the Chief Constable, Sir Francis Winstanley decides to call in Scotland Yard; and so it happens that Littlejohn is sent in.
Littlejohn, assisted by the local PC Samuel Harriwinckle (Oldfield checks in now and then, but is mostly occupied with other cases) begins to investigate. The residents at Hillary Magna are friendly and willing to cooperate and Littlejohn also finds that staying at the pub, The Bell, has its advantages for he can also overhear local gossip and identify various threads to follow. It emerges that many in Hilary Magna had a reason to do away with Miss Tither. Miss Tither not only sniffed out all the ‘scandal’ in the village but used her tongue freely to try to ‘reform’ ‘sinners’, besides also constantly badgering the poor Reverend to intervene. As a consequence, many in the village bore her a grudge and she had been at the receiving end of threats. In addition, her relative and heir, Rev Wynyard may have been keeping the real nature of his work from her, finding out which had been a shock to her (nothing horrifying but just not as pious as she’d been under the impression it was), and led her to consider altering her will. Speaking to people connected and unconnected with Miss Tither, Littlejohn begins to piece together the mystery, while in London, his deputy DS Cromwell (who thinks of his illustrious namesake when posed with a conundrum) takes on inquiries to assist the investigation.
This was my first time reading Bellairs (whom I only found out about through Rekha at the Book Decoder (https://thebookdecoder.com/2021/10/18...), who simply loves these books), and I thought it a wonderful read. My favourite elements of the book were its setting and characters. Bellairs paints a vivid picture of the village and its inhabitants. Each character, major or minor, is excellently drawn out—we get a look at their natures, idiosyncrasies, eccentricities; we learn their backstories; and their relationships with one another. Among my favourites was Mr Thornbush (courting Miss Tither’s maid, Sarah Russell), who sprouts psalms at the drop of a hat (much to Littlejohn’s annoyance; though on a fun note, Littlejohn ‘hears’ brass and cymbals each time this happens). Also, Constable Harriwincle who loves his food, and puffs up with pride at the important task he has been given and at having to assist a Scotland Yard man; he does his work sincerely, in fact even taking the initiative to track down information and follow up on leads, and I was really pleased with how things turned out for him (He reminded me in a way of Strawberry from Richard Adams’ Watership Down when he helped his friends and was filled with pride at having done so).
The village too comes across really well with dynamics between people, the little details of daily life like the harvest (and sadly also the shooting of rabbits and other ‘vermin’ alongside); preparations for harvest services at the church; and being wartime, blackout every evening.
As far as the mystery was concerned, there were indeed several suspects, and like a police procedural, we come upon information as Littlejohn goes around talking to different people. Re whodunit, once Littlejohn spoke to one of the characters, I could pretty much guess the who, but there was still a surprise in the plot I hadn’t seen coming at all (in fact, more than one), and some other aspects of the story that I could work out only along the way.
Overall this turned out to be a lovely read with humour in the writing and well fleshed out characters, also a mystery that kept me engaged, even if I did guess parts of it. I’m certainly looking forward to reading more Bellairs soon.
August 14, 2017
When George Ballairs penned his Inspector Thomas Littlejohn stories their humor appealed to war-weary British readers in need of a little light escapism. His third novel Death of a Busybody was published in 1942.
I have long wanted to read some of Poisoned Pen Press's British Library Crime Classics. The cover art of the series is gorgeous. And I am glad I requested this little gem, as it provided a bit of fun and relief I needed in these contemporary grim times.
The Rev. Ethelred Claplady of Hilary Magna and its smaller satellite sister city Hilary Parva is returning to the vicarage after pastoral visitations when he discovers Miss Tither laying face down in his cesspool.
The deceased had her nose into everybody's business, especially calling out the foibles and failings of her neighbors and pressing them to turn from their sinful ways. In her quest for the Christian improvement of humanity, she supports charities that carry on such good works as reclaiming fallen women. Miss Tither has made numerous enemies, all with a motive to do her in.
The murder depresses the Rev. Claplady who feels that all his efforts have fallen on 'stony ground.' (Sounds like a pretty accurate view of basic humanity!)
The murder 'has come at a most awkward time' and local authorities agree to call in Scotland Yard, bringing Inspector Littlejohn to investigate.
We meet colorful local villagers and become privy to the equally colorful rumors and gossip. It turns out that Hilary Magna is rife with sin.
I loved the humor. The gardener digging potatoes has "a huge backside protruding like some monstrous, black toadstool." Miss Tither's tongue was a weapon "which she used like a pair of bellows, fanning a spark of a whisper into a consuming fire of chatter, a holocaust of pursuing flame." I loved the rumor network reporting Miss Tither's death, with the story changing until it is reported that the "vicar's done it."
With another death, things get even more complicated, eventually revealing a charity fraud. "What a queer, even grotesque crime it is," said Sir Francis when the complicated relationships and animosities are revealed.
Death of a Busybody was a light fun read with a satisfying twist and wonderful characters. And to think, Bellairs wrote over fifty Littlejohn novels! That's a whole year of reading!
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
I have long wanted to read some of Poisoned Pen Press's British Library Crime Classics. The cover art of the series is gorgeous. And I am glad I requested this little gem, as it provided a bit of fun and relief I needed in these contemporary grim times.
The Rev. Ethelred Claplady of Hilary Magna and its smaller satellite sister city Hilary Parva is returning to the vicarage after pastoral visitations when he discovers Miss Tither laying face down in his cesspool.
The deceased had her nose into everybody's business, especially calling out the foibles and failings of her neighbors and pressing them to turn from their sinful ways. In her quest for the Christian improvement of humanity, she supports charities that carry on such good works as reclaiming fallen women. Miss Tither has made numerous enemies, all with a motive to do her in.
The murder depresses the Rev. Claplady who feels that all his efforts have fallen on 'stony ground.' (Sounds like a pretty accurate view of basic humanity!)
The murder 'has come at a most awkward time' and local authorities agree to call in Scotland Yard, bringing Inspector Littlejohn to investigate.
We meet colorful local villagers and become privy to the equally colorful rumors and gossip. It turns out that Hilary Magna is rife with sin.
I loved the humor. The gardener digging potatoes has "a huge backside protruding like some monstrous, black toadstool." Miss Tither's tongue was a weapon "which she used like a pair of bellows, fanning a spark of a whisper into a consuming fire of chatter, a holocaust of pursuing flame." I loved the rumor network reporting Miss Tither's death, with the story changing until it is reported that the "vicar's done it."
With another death, things get even more complicated, eventually revealing a charity fraud. "What a queer, even grotesque crime it is," said Sir Francis when the complicated relationships and animosities are revealed.
Death of a Busybody was a light fun read with a satisfying twist and wonderful characters. And to think, Bellairs wrote over fifty Littlejohn novels! That's a whole year of reading!
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
April 11, 2021
Murder at the vicarage--with a vengeance! Miss Ethel Tither is the busybody of Bellairs's title. Her life's mission is to dig up tittle-tattle--not with an eye to blackmail or poison pen letters as is so often the case in Golden Age village mysteries--oh no. Hers is a much loftier (in her mind) purpose--to show sinners the error of their ways and bring them back into the flock. It doesn't seem to occur to her that her mission is seldom successful. She more often than not drives the lost sheep even further from the fold. And makes herself several enemies while she's at it. When she is found hit over the head and drowned in the vicarage cesspool there is no lack of suspects, from Mr. Weekes whose weakness for a certain young lady was revealed to his wife to Walter Thornbush who wanted to marry her maid and was frustrated by Miss Tither's threat to cut off the girl's promised legacy if she married to Nancy Pearce and Reuben Beallot whose premarital goings-on were revealed to one and all to her own nephew whose inheritance was threatened when she found out he wasn't quite the industrious missionary he'd led her to believe.
The local police force have quite enough on their hands with a spate of robberies and a number of their officers off on a training course, so Scotland Yard is called on very quickly. Not wanting to the put the backs up of the villagers, they send Inspector Littlejohn who fits right in with the country folk. PC Harriwinkle is thrilled at the chance to work with the big guns from London and immediately begins dreaming of his sergeant's stripes. It winds up that the constable is a pretty observant man and produces some vital clues that help Littlejohn sort out the case. Those stripes are in the bag!
This is a lovely English village mystery. The characters are vibrant, humorous, and have the best names. From the Rev. Ethelred Claplady to Major Crabtree (whose real first name is Major) to Littljohn's assistant back in London, Cromwell, who. when contact with his superior is out of the question, figures out what to do next by asking himself, "What would Oliver Cromwell do?" Bellairs has a definite flair for description--both of the village & and surrounding area and the village residents and their habits. The details of the grapevine at work--spreading the tale of the discovery of the body that runs from the truth to "Miss Tither's been found shot in the vicarage orchard" to the final version "Owld Tither's been done in. They say the vicar's done it."--gives a pretty accurate view of how the gossip's game of telephone goes.
I did spot the villain of the piece as soon as a certain something was discovered--well before the final chapter was in sight--but did not make all the of connections that would be revealed in the wrap-up, so the denouement still held surprises for me. It's a tidy little mystery with fun and good characterizations that fans of the Golden Age should enjoy thoroughly.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review.
The local police force have quite enough on their hands with a spate of robberies and a number of their officers off on a training course, so Scotland Yard is called on very quickly. Not wanting to the put the backs up of the villagers, they send Inspector Littlejohn who fits right in with the country folk. PC Harriwinkle is thrilled at the chance to work with the big guns from London and immediately begins dreaming of his sergeant's stripes. It winds up that the constable is a pretty observant man and produces some vital clues that help Littlejohn sort out the case. Those stripes are in the bag!
This is a lovely English village mystery. The characters are vibrant, humorous, and have the best names. From the Rev. Ethelred Claplady to Major Crabtree (whose real first name is Major) to Littljohn's assistant back in London, Cromwell, who. when contact with his superior is out of the question, figures out what to do next by asking himself, "What would Oliver Cromwell do?" Bellairs has a definite flair for description--both of the village & and surrounding area and the village residents and their habits. The details of the grapevine at work--spreading the tale of the discovery of the body that runs from the truth to "Miss Tither's been found shot in the vicarage orchard" to the final version "Owld Tither's been done in. They say the vicar's done it."--gives a pretty accurate view of how the gossip's game of telephone goes.
I did spot the villain of the piece as soon as a certain something was discovered--well before the final chapter was in sight--but did not make all the of connections that would be revealed in the wrap-up, so the denouement still held surprises for me. It's a tidy little mystery with fun and good characterizations that fans of the Golden Age should enjoy thoroughly.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review.
August 13, 2018
Without doubt the single best golden age book I’ve ever read and I’ve read hundreds. No review can do it justice, read it for yourselves and see.
October 13, 2016
Miss Tither knows everything there is to know about the village of Hilary Magna but in this case all her knowledge proves to be dangerous when she is found dead in the Vicar's cesspool. The Reverend Ethelred Claplady is shocked but somehow not surprised. Miss Tither is noted for tracking down all the sinners in the parish and berating them in an effort to get them to change their ways. She somehow manages to ferret out everyone's secrets and does not hesitate to tell the partners of cheating spouses what is going on.
Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is the ideal man to investigate such a quintessentially village crime and he takes up residence at the local inn while he looks into the matter. He is unable to prevent a second death but eventually he does uncover the murderer. This is the first book I've read by this author but it definitely won't be the last. He writes with humour and in an easy pleasant style which has really stood the test of time extremely well.
I loved the portrait of the village and its occupants especially the Rev Claplady with his hobby of keeping bees. He is a marvellously humane and human character. The other village inhabitants are brought vividly to life as well especially the victim herself even though the reader doesn't actually see much of her. Inspector Littlejohn is a quiet unassuming individual and I liked his sidekick - Cromwell - who when in doubt thinks 'What would Oliver Cromwell do?' Great characters and an interesting plot make this a good read for everyone who loves classic detective stories.
Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is the ideal man to investigate such a quintessentially village crime and he takes up residence at the local inn while he looks into the matter. He is unable to prevent a second death but eventually he does uncover the murderer. This is the first book I've read by this author but it definitely won't be the last. He writes with humour and in an easy pleasant style which has really stood the test of time extremely well.
I loved the portrait of the village and its occupants especially the Rev Claplady with his hobby of keeping bees. He is a marvellously humane and human character. The other village inhabitants are brought vividly to life as well especially the victim herself even though the reader doesn't actually see much of her. Inspector Littlejohn is a quiet unassuming individual and I liked his sidekick - Cromwell - who when in doubt thinks 'What would Oliver Cromwell do?' Great characters and an interesting plot make this a good read for everyone who loves classic detective stories.
April 7, 2021
A good murder mystery with some strong characters. Bellairs has set a few of his books in Leicestershire but has failed to accurately represent the local accent using instead a sort of generic peasant voice with lots of ois and mois for I and my. A bugbear of mine so I marked it down for that.
April 24, 2019
George Bellairs is a novelist who has been recently resurrected and thankfully so. Unfortunately, nowadays, even the genre of detective fiction has been divided into novels and entertainments (reading which many experience as a guilty pleasure). This book (first published in 1942) definitely belongs to the category of entertainment with its likeable Scotland Yard detective. It is short (224 pages), light and amusing with a plot which is not too mysterious.
Inspector Littlejohn from Scotland Yard is called upon to investigate the murder of Miss Tither. She was a woman who displays ‘novels of a moral type’ in her drawing-room, and believes it is her religious duty to pry into every nook and corner of her village and then to berate the sinners without any need for secrecy.
What is noteworthy about this writer is his sympathetic attitude towards the working men and women and their families and his description of their lives and homes is quite detailed at times without becoming a tale of squalor. This, of course, is in great contrast to other writers of detective fiction of that era. The remark of a farmer when told by Miss Tither about his daughter’s activities is priceless:
“…Well, as I sez at the toime, if a feller can’t be compromizin’ with the gel he’s tokened to, who can he be compromizin’ with?”
This is a writer, who has written many novels of which quite a few are available in modern editions and is definitely worth giving a try.
Inspector Littlejohn from Scotland Yard is called upon to investigate the murder of Miss Tither. She was a woman who displays ‘novels of a moral type’ in her drawing-room, and believes it is her religious duty to pry into every nook and corner of her village and then to berate the sinners without any need for secrecy.
What is noteworthy about this writer is his sympathetic attitude towards the working men and women and their families and his description of their lives and homes is quite detailed at times without becoming a tale of squalor. This, of course, is in great contrast to other writers of detective fiction of that era. The remark of a farmer when told by Miss Tither about his daughter’s activities is priceless:
“…Well, as I sez at the toime, if a feller can’t be compromizin’ with the gel he’s tokened to, who can he be compromizin’ with?”
This is a writer, who has written many novels of which quite a few are available in modern editions and is definitely worth giving a try.
July 18, 2017
*I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
I really enjoyed this book. I had never heard of this author or his Inspector Littlejohn, and came across this book by chance on the NetGalley page of a publisher I had enjoyed other books from. The cover and the description promised a cozy, old-fashioned mystery, and that's exactly what I got.
Miss Tither, local busybody of a small country village, is found dead by the vicar (one Ethelred Claplady; had to mention him, because I love his name) in the cesspool behind his house. Miss Tither had been on the warpath against any salacious behavior for years, meddling and moralizing, trying to make every last sinner repent and had made an enemy out of most people she met. The local police ask for help from Scotland Yard, and inspector Littlejohn promptly joins the local constabulary in the search for the killer.
There was nothing earth-shattering about this, but I nevertheless really enjoyed this. It reminds me of cozy Agatha Christie novels you can just lose yourself in on a rainy (or in my case sunny) day.
I really enjoyed this book. I had never heard of this author or his Inspector Littlejohn, and came across this book by chance on the NetGalley page of a publisher I had enjoyed other books from. The cover and the description promised a cozy, old-fashioned mystery, and that's exactly what I got.
Miss Tither, local busybody of a small country village, is found dead by the vicar (one Ethelred Claplady; had to mention him, because I love his name) in the cesspool behind his house. Miss Tither had been on the warpath against any salacious behavior for years, meddling and moralizing, trying to make every last sinner repent and had made an enemy out of most people she met. The local police ask for help from Scotland Yard, and inspector Littlejohn promptly joins the local constabulary in the search for the killer.
There was nothing earth-shattering about this, but I nevertheless really enjoyed this. It reminds me of cozy Agatha Christie novels you can just lose yourself in on a rainy (or in my case sunny) day.
October 27, 2024
Bellairs at his best: nicely-paced, with a fairly-presented mystery and some good characterisation. The whimsy of everyday life is drawn more finely than in some of his other books and is all the better for it.
June 25, 2018
Miss Tither is the busybody who makes it her mission to notice any and all sins committed by villagers. She not only takes notice but she makes sure everyone does. So to help them reform she passes out religious tracts daily. From the title, you can guess what happens to Miss Tither. This is the third British Library Crime Classics book I've read recently and I really liked it. This book was published during the middle of WW2. The characters were relatable and memorable unlike the ones in John Bude's book. The Introduction to the book mentioned George Bellairs' humor. I totally agree. The part where Isaiah Gromley dresses in his Sunday "best" and goes to the inquest as a witness cracked me up. If I had been reading it in a library, it would have been hard to keep from laughing out loud. The names of people in these old British stories are so odd. This one was full of them: Reverend Ethelred Claplady…. Ethel Tither..... Sam Harriwinckle….. A. Pepperdy… Athelstan Wynyard... W. Thornbush...R. Beallot… Mr. Allnutt… Absalom Carradine! The people is what made this story interesting for me. Kept me guessing until the last few chapters. I did pick up on the clue about Mrs. Weeks and made a good guess. I'll be looking for more of Mr. Bellairs' stories.
September 18, 2021
I really enjoyed this mystery, my first introduction to Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard. He’s called in when Miss Tither is found dead in the cesspool of the vicarage - turns out she was hit on the head, but actually died from drowning in a few inches of water.
The murder takes place in 1940, and Bellairs works in details to evoke wartime rural life, mentioning troops on leave, blackout conditions, and celebrations postponed because rations didn’t allow for extras.
Littlejohn is a very likable, diligent Inspector, with a sense of humor and humility - he gets on with the job, patiently and graciously working through interviews with villagers of all types, and thanks and gladly shares credit with fellow officers who help him out (some delightful scenes provided by diligent village PC Harriwinckle, who is first on the murder scene and assists Littlejohn - I was so glad he was amply rewarded for his hard work!).
I found this detective and mystery very appealing, and will definitely read more of Inspector Littlejohn’s outings.
The murder takes place in 1940, and Bellairs works in details to evoke wartime rural life, mentioning troops on leave, blackout conditions, and celebrations postponed because rations didn’t allow for extras.
Littlejohn is a very likable, diligent Inspector, with a sense of humor and humility - he gets on with the job, patiently and graciously working through interviews with villagers of all types, and thanks and gladly shares credit with fellow officers who help him out (some delightful scenes provided by diligent village PC Harriwinckle, who is first on the murder scene and assists Littlejohn - I was so glad he was amply rewarded for his hard work!).
I found this detective and mystery very appealing, and will definitely read more of Inspector Littlejohn’s outings.
August 3, 2017
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me to read a digital galley of this novel.
I am so grateful to Poisoned Pen Press, the British Library Crime Classics series and Martin Edwards, editor of this novel, for bringing books such as this back into circulation so they can be enjoyed by readers who particularly enjoy the classic crime novels. This one was first released in either 1942 or 1943 (there's a little difference between the copyright date and the date Edwards states in his editorial introduction) but it was definitely sometime when World War II was still being fought. There are many small clues like black-out curtains on the windows, petrol shortages, land girls doing jobs on the farms and some mention of rationing, but rationing had not reached the extreme levels which later years made necessary. There is a tea shop which specializes in all sorts of sweets and there is definitely no shortage of sugar at this point. There also is not a single mention of fighting on any front and that is quite at variance with most mystery novels set in this time period.
Author George Bellairs was a new writer for me but I am glad I've discovered his works now. From the standpoint of depicting the villages of Hilary Magna and Parva in typical country style Bellairs has held true to the expected in a novel of this time period. The people who live in Hilary Magna or Parva, though, now that's where things get very interesting. The people in the villages are perfect in their types, but then Bellairs reveals a little more and a little more until you find you didn't really know some of the people at all. There are twists I never expected to see. The village busybody has been killed, her body left in a really unusual place and there is even a mystery of how she actually died. Motives are everywhere but they just don't seem to lead anywhere.
The book deals with a very serious subject, yes, but the author doesn't hesitate to inject some lightness into the atmosphere when things start to get too oppressive. Bellairs steps outside the novel often to relate little things which humanize his characters to a great extent. For example the Scotland Yard Inspector goes into the tea shop and buys his wife two pounds of fudge and has it sent to her through the post. The reader is told that they later had a conversation about the fudge and Mrs. Littlejohn "was delighted with her husband's kindly thought of her at a crucial moment in his case, but, on hearing the price, said he had paid at least four times more than the stuff was worth". Bellaires also finishes up all the stray ends by telling the reader what happened to some of the characters after the story was finished and they had gone on with their lives. This was a very nice touch and let me feel good about characters I had been spending my reading time with.
This is one of those recently re-issued books readers who love the village mystery will want to read and add to their collection. George Bellairs is an author I want to put on my list of favorites so I can help him solve his next case. He didn't exactly need my expertise this time, but you never know if he might in the future.
I am so grateful to Poisoned Pen Press, the British Library Crime Classics series and Martin Edwards, editor of this novel, for bringing books such as this back into circulation so they can be enjoyed by readers who particularly enjoy the classic crime novels. This one was first released in either 1942 or 1943 (there's a little difference between the copyright date and the date Edwards states in his editorial introduction) but it was definitely sometime when World War II was still being fought. There are many small clues like black-out curtains on the windows, petrol shortages, land girls doing jobs on the farms and some mention of rationing, but rationing had not reached the extreme levels which later years made necessary. There is a tea shop which specializes in all sorts of sweets and there is definitely no shortage of sugar at this point. There also is not a single mention of fighting on any front and that is quite at variance with most mystery novels set in this time period.
Author George Bellairs was a new writer for me but I am glad I've discovered his works now. From the standpoint of depicting the villages of Hilary Magna and Parva in typical country style Bellairs has held true to the expected in a novel of this time period. The people who live in Hilary Magna or Parva, though, now that's where things get very interesting. The people in the villages are perfect in their types, but then Bellairs reveals a little more and a little more until you find you didn't really know some of the people at all. There are twists I never expected to see. The village busybody has been killed, her body left in a really unusual place and there is even a mystery of how she actually died. Motives are everywhere but they just don't seem to lead anywhere.
The book deals with a very serious subject, yes, but the author doesn't hesitate to inject some lightness into the atmosphere when things start to get too oppressive. Bellairs steps outside the novel often to relate little things which humanize his characters to a great extent. For example the Scotland Yard Inspector goes into the tea shop and buys his wife two pounds of fudge and has it sent to her through the post. The reader is told that they later had a conversation about the fudge and Mrs. Littlejohn "was delighted with her husband's kindly thought of her at a crucial moment in his case, but, on hearing the price, said he had paid at least four times more than the stuff was worth". Bellaires also finishes up all the stray ends by telling the reader what happened to some of the characters after the story was finished and they had gone on with their lives. This was a very nice touch and let me feel good about characters I had been spending my reading time with.
This is one of those recently re-issued books readers who love the village mystery will want to read and add to their collection. George Bellairs is an author I want to put on my list of favorites so I can help him solve his next case. He didn't exactly need my expertise this time, but you never know if he might in the future.
April 1, 2024
Village scandals…
Miss Tither likes to stick her nose into other people’s business. So when that nose is found, attached to the rest of her, buried in the vicar’s cesspit, the pool of suspects is huge. Could it be one of the sinners she has tried to bring to repentance by threatening to reveal their sins to the world? Could it be the agnostic she is constantly trying to convert? Could it be one of the people who stand to inherit in her will? Or could she finally have found out a secret that is dangerous to someone unknown? The local police are shorthanded because of the war and are busy with all the extra work that comes with enforcing wartime rules, so they call on Scotland Yard for help. Enter Inspector Littlejohn…
This is a lot of fun. Inspector Littlejohn is a likeable ‘tec who works well with the locals. He’s working in collaboration with local Inspector Oldfield, but the real star of the show is PC Sam Harriwinckle, the village constable, who hopes to win his sergeant’s stripes by impressing the man from the Yard.
There is a serious plot and a good mystery here, complete with a range of suspects with plausible motives. But there’s also a lot of humour in the depiction of village life, more than I remember in the few other Bellairs mysteries I’ve read. Admittedly the humour does rely on that condescension to the lower classes that appears so often in vintage crime fiction, but it’s done affectionately and Inspector Littlejohn treats the locals with respect, especially PC Harriwinckle.
With so many possible suspects, a lot depends on who had the opportunity. Inspector Littlejohn has to try to pin down where everyone was at the time the crime must have been committed. To help him, the vicar draws a map of the twin villages of Hilary Magna and Hilary Parva, which is helpfully printed in the book and is essential in following all the permutations of who was where when. As Littlejohn goes round the two villages talking to various witnesses and suspects, we get a real feel for village life – the Bell Inn as the centre for gossip, the harvest, the blackout regulations for a war that somehow seems far away from this rural backwater, and the secrets and scandals that Miss Tither had so loved to ferret out. There is darkness amid the humour – lust, deceit, bitter marriages, greed – and all the clues are there for the reader to compete with Littlejohn to get to the solution first. I thought I had a pretty good idea of who had done the deed and how, but I didn’t work out the motive, and there is a twist that threw me off track and had me doubting myself, all of which made for a very enjoyable mystery.
I’ve enjoyed a few of Bellairs’ novels now and am realising that his books have a lot of variety in settings and tone. This one showed that he is just as good at a lighter style as he is when creating a darker atmosphere. I’m looking forward to reading more of him – another of the many Golden Age authors who have been undeservedly allowed to sink into obscurity.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Miss Tither likes to stick her nose into other people’s business. So when that nose is found, attached to the rest of her, buried in the vicar’s cesspit, the pool of suspects is huge. Could it be one of the sinners she has tried to bring to repentance by threatening to reveal their sins to the world? Could it be the agnostic she is constantly trying to convert? Could it be one of the people who stand to inherit in her will? Or could she finally have found out a secret that is dangerous to someone unknown? The local police are shorthanded because of the war and are busy with all the extra work that comes with enforcing wartime rules, so they call on Scotland Yard for help. Enter Inspector Littlejohn…
This is a lot of fun. Inspector Littlejohn is a likeable ‘tec who works well with the locals. He’s working in collaboration with local Inspector Oldfield, but the real star of the show is PC Sam Harriwinckle, the village constable, who hopes to win his sergeant’s stripes by impressing the man from the Yard.
There is a serious plot and a good mystery here, complete with a range of suspects with plausible motives. But there’s also a lot of humour in the depiction of village life, more than I remember in the few other Bellairs mysteries I’ve read. Admittedly the humour does rely on that condescension to the lower classes that appears so often in vintage crime fiction, but it’s done affectionately and Inspector Littlejohn treats the locals with respect, especially PC Harriwinckle.
With so many possible suspects, a lot depends on who had the opportunity. Inspector Littlejohn has to try to pin down where everyone was at the time the crime must have been committed. To help him, the vicar draws a map of the twin villages of Hilary Magna and Hilary Parva, which is helpfully printed in the book and is essential in following all the permutations of who was where when. As Littlejohn goes round the two villages talking to various witnesses and suspects, we get a real feel for village life – the Bell Inn as the centre for gossip, the harvest, the blackout regulations for a war that somehow seems far away from this rural backwater, and the secrets and scandals that Miss Tither had so loved to ferret out. There is darkness amid the humour – lust, deceit, bitter marriages, greed – and all the clues are there for the reader to compete with Littlejohn to get to the solution first. I thought I had a pretty good idea of who had done the deed and how, but I didn’t work out the motive, and there is a twist that threw me off track and had me doubting myself, all of which made for a very enjoyable mystery.
I’ve enjoyed a few of Bellairs’ novels now and am realising that his books have a lot of variety in settings and tone. This one showed that he is just as good at a lighter style as he is when creating a darker atmosphere. I’m looking forward to reading more of him – another of the many Golden Age authors who have been undeservedly allowed to sink into obscurity.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
September 9, 2021
Popsugar 2021: a book that was published anonymously (pseudonym)
I read this for a mystery book club. It's a classic, no doubt, and we like to try to get a couple of classics in with more modern mysteries.
I didn't really connect to it. I had the feeling that I often have when reading books written so long ago (1942), that I'm trying to understand the customs of a different country and not catching all the nuance. Bellairs has a wry sense of humor. That humor does tend to come from poking fun at country accents with their malapropisms and mocking of unsophisticated ways. This classism makes me a bit uncomfortable, as does the idea of a busybody (invariably a woman) who annoys everyone by poking her nose into everyone else's business because, after all, what else is an old single woman to do in the country? Today there's such attention paid to things like sexism and classism and stereotypes of mental illness that a lot of older books make me squirm a bit.
But Bellairs definitely seemed like he was having fun with the book. The answer to the mystery is an old piece of technology which didn't occur to me, although I had guessed something similar. I have a quibble or two with it, but that's fine. I won't read more from this author. If I had come across him earlier in my life, I might have enjoyed him a bit more.
I read this for a mystery book club. It's a classic, no doubt, and we like to try to get a couple of classics in with more modern mysteries.
I didn't really connect to it. I had the feeling that I often have when reading books written so long ago (1942), that I'm trying to understand the customs of a different country and not catching all the nuance. Bellairs has a wry sense of humor. That humor does tend to come from poking fun at country accents with their malapropisms and mocking of unsophisticated ways. This classism makes me a bit uncomfortable, as does the idea of a busybody (invariably a woman) who annoys everyone by poking her nose into everyone else's business because, after all, what else is an old single woman to do in the country? Today there's such attention paid to things like sexism and classism and stereotypes of mental illness that a lot of older books make me squirm a bit.
But Bellairs definitely seemed like he was having fun with the book. The answer to the mystery is an old piece of technology which didn't occur to me, although I had guessed something similar. I have a quibble or two with it, but that's fine. I won't read more from this author. If I had come across him earlier in my life, I might have enjoyed him a bit more.
August 28, 2017
I've been in a bit of a rut with my reading, trudging through a few books that I had high hopes for but that didn't engage me. Two of the last 3 novels I started I didn't finish, and these included a Booker prizewinner and a Pulitzer prizewinner. I started to think my favourite thing to do in the world, reading, had lost its sheen. Being involved in 3 reading groups, 2 of which I run, might have played a part in making books feel like a chore rather than a pleasure.
And it's not as if Death of a Busybody was a stone cold classic that knocked me for six and changed everything forever - but it was pure, easy enjoyment and I didn't feel tempted to give up, even if I didn't feel compelled to stay up into the early hours to find out who did it. I bought a few of this British Library Crime Classics series, and as I pegged this as the least enticing I have high hopes for what comes next. Uh oh, high hopes.
Anyway, this had a fruity cast of characters and, being from the 1940s, the sort of writing which has gone out of style but is still great fun to read.
And it's not as if Death of a Busybody was a stone cold classic that knocked me for six and changed everything forever - but it was pure, easy enjoyment and I didn't feel tempted to give up, even if I didn't feel compelled to stay up into the early hours to find out who did it. I bought a few of this British Library Crime Classics series, and as I pegged this as the least enticing I have high hopes for what comes next. Uh oh, high hopes.
Anyway, this had a fruity cast of characters and, being from the 1940s, the sort of writing which has gone out of style but is still great fun to read.
November 11, 2018
Actually four and a half stars.George Bellairs is a forgotten author of this lovely detective story. Told with great humour. And he really knows how to construct long sentences the way they should be. Very clear and not something that confuses the reader. I didn't realize that such terrible things happened in small English villages of the 1940's. I will certainly read more stories by Bellairs. I am glad to hear there are plenty more.
April 4, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyable English village murder. Full of detection with excellent characterisations of the protagonists and Bellairs' marvelous hint of wit in the writing. A pure delight. Highly recommended.
Have just re-read this and enjoyed it even more.
Have just re-read this and enjoyed it even more.
March 22, 2020
This story took me quite awhile to get into. Even though it was written in the 1942, I believe, much of the language was somehow both archaic and heavy on the dialect of the countryside. There were so many words or phrases that I didn't know, that it kept pulling me out of the story.
After awhile, though, my first foray into a George Bellairs story became easier to read and I began to feel pulled into the mystery. There were a lot of potential candidates for murderer and I tried to predict who was the murderer, based on the clues provided. Overall, it was an okay mystery.
After awhile, though, my first foray into a George Bellairs story became easier to read and I began to feel pulled into the mystery. There were a lot of potential candidates for murderer and I tried to predict who was the murderer, based on the clues provided. Overall, it was an okay mystery.
March 7, 2019
This story just wasn’t for me (as evident by how long it took me to read all 200 pages!) Each time I picked up the book to continue reading, I would find something more interesting to do. This book just failed to pull me in and I guessed part of the ending quite early on, nevertheless I was determined to finish it and thankfully I have.
July 8, 2017
First published in 1942 , Death of a Busybody is the third in George Bellairs’ series featuring Inspector, later, Superintendent, Thomas Littlejohn. The series, published from 1941-1980, ran to over fifty books.
Bellairs, who died in 1985, has been unjustly neglected until the recent reissues. In his lifetime he was rated highly by the author and reviewer, Francis Iles (Anthony Berkley) ,who was a great spotter of crime-writing talent.
Martin Edwards opines in his useful Introduction that Bellairs was so prolific that his work varies in quality -“but his best novels supply pleasant entertainment”. This book exemplifies the good qualities of Bellairs’ work. To me, they are well-crafted and intelligent contributions to the genre.
The “busybody” is Miss Ethel Tither, inhabitant of Hilary Magna, a village deep in the English countryside. When her body is found in the Rev. Ethelred Claplady’s cesspool by Isaiah Gormley, the local police call in Scotland Yard in the person of Inspector Littlejohn.
Miss Tither, fuelled by religious conviction, had been the very active and vocal guardian of the morality of the inhabitants of the area, regularly dispensing unwanted tracts and unwelcome comments and advice. The suspects are, therefore, many and various- adulterers and atheists, fornicators and floozies: all have reason to hate her.
Littlejohn, with some help, locally from Police Constable Harriwinckle, and, from Detective Sergeant Cromwell in London, carries out one of his usual painstaking investigations. Miss Tither’s will provides some interesting leads concerning a relative and religious charities she was interested in. Among the locals, Mr. Lorrimer also gives information and fuel for thought on possible suspects.
The cast of characters, including the apiarist vicar, a choleric coroner, a psalm-quoting suitor, a snobbish tea-shop owner and an alcoholic farmer, as well as the victim herself, are delineated in vivid pen-portraits.
The humour is gentle, but Bellairs shows he has no time for hypocrisy and greed, and ensures that the perpetrator suffers the ultimate penalty while conceding that madness may have played a part.
The writing is clear and the plotting, fairly straightforward. The murderer is not too difficult to spot and one alibi uses a well-known trick of classic crime writers.
I am a great fan of Bellairs’ novels with their casts of lovable eccentrics.This is a good one to start with if you are unfamiliar with his work.
Highly recommended. Four stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advance copy.
Bellairs, who died in 1985, has been unjustly neglected until the recent reissues. In his lifetime he was rated highly by the author and reviewer, Francis Iles (Anthony Berkley) ,who was a great spotter of crime-writing talent.
Martin Edwards opines in his useful Introduction that Bellairs was so prolific that his work varies in quality -“but his best novels supply pleasant entertainment”. This book exemplifies the good qualities of Bellairs’ work. To me, they are well-crafted and intelligent contributions to the genre.
The “busybody” is Miss Ethel Tither, inhabitant of Hilary Magna, a village deep in the English countryside. When her body is found in the Rev. Ethelred Claplady’s cesspool by Isaiah Gormley, the local police call in Scotland Yard in the person of Inspector Littlejohn.
Miss Tither, fuelled by religious conviction, had been the very active and vocal guardian of the morality of the inhabitants of the area, regularly dispensing unwanted tracts and unwelcome comments and advice. The suspects are, therefore, many and various- adulterers and atheists, fornicators and floozies: all have reason to hate her.
Littlejohn, with some help, locally from Police Constable Harriwinckle, and, from Detective Sergeant Cromwell in London, carries out one of his usual painstaking investigations. Miss Tither’s will provides some interesting leads concerning a relative and religious charities she was interested in. Among the locals, Mr. Lorrimer also gives information and fuel for thought on possible suspects.
The cast of characters, including the apiarist vicar, a choleric coroner, a psalm-quoting suitor, a snobbish tea-shop owner and an alcoholic farmer, as well as the victim herself, are delineated in vivid pen-portraits.
The humour is gentle, but Bellairs shows he has no time for hypocrisy and greed, and ensures that the perpetrator suffers the ultimate penalty while conceding that madness may have played a part.
The writing is clear and the plotting, fairly straightforward. The murderer is not too difficult to spot and one alibi uses a well-known trick of classic crime writers.
I am a great fan of Bellairs’ novels with their casts of lovable eccentrics.This is a good one to start with if you are unfamiliar with his work.
Highly recommended. Four stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advance copy.
January 30, 2025
In some remote English village, an unpopular lady with a deep religious root who is known for her habits of meddling into people's private businesses and her overly zealous attempts trying to convert the villagers' "malicious" ways of living is found murdered one day. After some serious deliberation, the local law enforcers decide to employ an additional help from the Scotland Yard, Inspector Littlejohn, to speed up the investigation process. The crime is solved rather rapidly with minimum surveys on the crime spot with some back-and-forth interviews of the locals before Inspector Littlejohn cracks the case. "Death of a Busybody" is a quintessential vintage crime novel of the golden age detective fiction era. Fine writing with a believable plot make it an overall enjoyable read.
The pace of "The Death of Busybody" is quite slow at the beginning and the extensive use of the local accents and dialects slowed me down somewhat. The plot probably isn't the most original one. I have came across something similar in the past. About half way done, when Littlejohn spots the discrepancy of the murderer's alibi, the culprit and his motive become quite obvious. A little surprise that comes at the end helps to make this "typical" vintage mystery a genuine good read. As plain as the plot could be, Bellairs' writing somehow is captivating and engrossing.
Thanks Netgallery and Poisoned Pen Press for providing an advanced reading copy for my honest review. The British Library Classic Crime series has not been a disappointment so far.
The pace of "The Death of Busybody" is quite slow at the beginning and the extensive use of the local accents and dialects slowed me down somewhat. The plot probably isn't the most original one. I have came across something similar in the past. About half way done, when Littlejohn spots the discrepancy of the murderer's alibi, the culprit and his motive become quite obvious. A little surprise that comes at the end helps to make this "typical" vintage mystery a genuine good read. As plain as the plot could be, Bellairs' writing somehow is captivating and engrossing.
Thanks Netgallery and Poisoned Pen Press for providing an advanced reading copy for my honest review. The British Library Classic Crime series has not been a disappointment so far.
June 14, 2017
"Death of a Busybody" is a mystery that was originally published in 1942 and is set in England. The characters were described with a humorous touch and village life was described in passing as the detective investigated, so the story had some interest beyond the investigation.
Inspector Littlejohn and the local constable followed up on obvious leads and questioned many people. Inspector Littlejohn slowly uncovered what happened until he was finally able to put it all together. There were clues, and the reader (having more clues) can guess whodunit before the Inspector. But the mystery was more complex than I expected.
There was no sex. There was a minor amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable, interesting mystery.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
Inspector Littlejohn and the local constable followed up on obvious leads and questioned many people. Inspector Littlejohn slowly uncovered what happened until he was finally able to put it all together. There were clues, and the reader (having more clues) can guess whodunit before the Inspector. But the mystery was more complex than I expected.
There was no sex. There was a minor amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable, interesting mystery.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
July 8, 2018
After 50 pages or so I realised I didn't care who had dumped Ethel Tither in the cesspit. On the plus side, one of the characters is called Ethelred Claplady.
September 3, 2023
Miss Tither is a spinster and the busybody of the title. She has upset just about everybody in the village of Hilary Magna and loves to confront people with what she knows about them. She is found murdered face down in a cesspool which is in the Rev. Claplady's garden and the crime is investigated by Chief Inspector Littlejohn from Scotland Yard, his colleague Inspector Oldfield and the local PC Harriwinkle. There are several suspects including Haxley a man seen talking to Miss Tither shortly before she died; those who stand to benefit from her will, including her nephew Wynard (a missionary recently returned home from overseas); and any number of local people who she has upset who we find out are mainly Lorrimer and Weekes. The upshot is that Weekes is having an affair with a young servant girl called Polly. Miss Tither finds out and when she confronts him, he hits her - he thinks he has killed her but he hasn't. Lorrimer witnessing their argument, then drags her body to the cesspool where she drowns. When Littlejohn confronts Weekes he leaves the room and appears to shoot himself - but a second murder is in fact carried by his wife. Mrs Weekes is the sister of Lorrimer and Lorrimer has been duping Miss Tither into funding a bogus charity and it emerges she intended to leave a lot of money to the charity in her will. Lorrimer originally had an alibi from his two servants, who said he was playing the piano - in fact it was an electric device that sounded like a piano that he could leave to play and duck out to commit the murder.
I really enjoy cosy crime and this was just what I needed, an easy read. This is set during the war but is not related to the war very much apart from the occasional mentioning of blackouts and the policeman posing as a blackout inspector in order to gain access to Lorrimer's house.
I really enjoy cosy crime and this was just what I needed, an easy read. This is set during the war but is not related to the war very much apart from the occasional mentioning of blackouts and the policeman posing as a blackout inspector in order to gain access to Lorrimer's house.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2018
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
This is exactly the sort of story you expect from the British Library Crime Classics reissues: a smallish village, a murder, Scotland Yard gets called in… it’s not astoundingly original or surprising, with an alibi that falls apart the second you realise that a certain fact doesn’t necessarily constitute an alibi at all — but it’s comfortable and it rolls along at a reasonable pace. Okay, there’s a madwoman (sigh) who commits violence, but even that’s pretty much par for the course and not something I consider a complete turn-off with classic crime fiction. There’s even a little funny vicar who does his best for his flock and is rather anxious and unhappy about testifying against a parishioner, etc, etc.
The writing isn’t the sort of level where you particularly take note, but it works… apart from maybe the phonetic accents. I could do without those. I wonder how comprehensible they even are to people who haven’t heard the actual accent.
So yeah, fun and worth the read if you’re interested in picking up something cosy-ish (I mean, sure, there’s crime, but nobody likes the victim, so that’s almost okay in these books). I’ll definitely happily read more of Bellairs’ work.
This is exactly the sort of story you expect from the British Library Crime Classics reissues: a smallish village, a murder, Scotland Yard gets called in… it’s not astoundingly original or surprising, with an alibi that falls apart the second you realise that a certain fact doesn’t necessarily constitute an alibi at all — but it’s comfortable and it rolls along at a reasonable pace. Okay, there’s a madwoman (sigh) who commits violence, but even that’s pretty much par for the course and not something I consider a complete turn-off with classic crime fiction. There’s even a little funny vicar who does his best for his flock and is rather anxious and unhappy about testifying against a parishioner, etc, etc.
The writing isn’t the sort of level where you particularly take note, but it works… apart from maybe the phonetic accents. I could do without those. I wonder how comprehensible they even are to people who haven’t heard the actual accent.
So yeah, fun and worth the read if you’re interested in picking up something cosy-ish (I mean, sure, there’s crime, but nobody likes the victim, so that’s almost okay in these books). I’ll definitely happily read more of Bellairs’ work.
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