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Chief Inspector Littlejohn #39
Death in the Wasteland
A murder and a missing body interrupt a getaway in the south of France . . .
Waldo and Averil Keelagher were looking forward to a holiday in the south of France in their new caravan. But delight turned to dismay when they discovered that Waldo’s unbearable stockbroking uncle would be joining them. Not long after their arrival on the Riviera, however, they’re relieved of their unwelcome guest when Waldo finds Uncle George dead in the wasteland of the Estérel.
Panicking, Waldo and Averil pack the body into the back of their car and rush to the nearest police station in Cannes. But things really take a turn for the peculiar when, after reporting the crime, the couple heads back to the car to find it has been stolen—with George’s body still inside.
Now, Superintendent Littlejohn, who happens to be on holiday nearby, finds himself caught up in one of his most complicated and unorthodox cases yet . . .
Waldo and Averil Keelagher were looking forward to a holiday in the south of France in their new caravan. But delight turned to dismay when they discovered that Waldo’s unbearable stockbroking uncle would be joining them. Not long after their arrival on the Riviera, however, they’re relieved of their unwelcome guest when Waldo finds Uncle George dead in the wasteland of the Estérel.
Panicking, Waldo and Averil pack the body into the back of their car and rush to the nearest police station in Cannes. But things really take a turn for the peculiar when, after reporting the crime, the couple heads back to the car to find it has been stolen—with George’s body still inside.
Now, Superintendent Littlejohn, who happens to be on holiday nearby, finds himself caught up in one of his most complicated and unorthodox cases yet . . .
218 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1963
88 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
George Bellairs
73 books101 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 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 12, 2020
This was my first Inspector Littlejohn. A biographical introduction says He is often referred to as the English Simenon, as his detective stories combine wicked crimes and classic police procedurals, set in quaint villages. As I am a definite fan of Simenon and his Maigret series, I was much encouraged.
I can see the comparison, although I did not find a likeness between Littlejohn and Maigret. Perhaps I will as I read more. In any case, this installment set in southern France starts on a somewhat humorous note. An English couple has been camping and his Great Uncle George has accompanied them. One morning they get up to find Uncle George dead. Not wanting to leave him, they bundle him into the car and head for the Cannes police to report his death. While inside with the police trying to tell their story, their car is stolen - with dead Great Uncle George in the back seat. You know? I wanted to be with the thieves when they discovered they had stolen a dead body! Of course that isn't where the novel takes us and I had to forego that bit of humor.
Littlejohn enters the case because he happened to be vacationing in the vicinity and was known to the young man through a family tie. Littlejohn is fluent in French and helps the young couple who barely speak the language. The investigation continues in London.
I'm glad to have learned about Bellairs and I think I will enjoy the others I have picked up on the cheap. There may not be anything spectacular about either his prose or his characterizations, but I have nothing to complain about them either. For me, this was different enough for it to feel fresh. Not fresh as in 21st Century, fresh as not in the same old run of the mill detective novel. Please note that I say "for me" because I suspect if I were to read enough of them 'fresh' would probably no longer be accurate. This is a solid 3-stars, which is my next-to-top rating for the mystery genre.
I can see the comparison, although I did not find a likeness between Littlejohn and Maigret. Perhaps I will as I read more. In any case, this installment set in southern France starts on a somewhat humorous note. An English couple has been camping and his Great Uncle George has accompanied them. One morning they get up to find Uncle George dead. Not wanting to leave him, they bundle him into the car and head for the Cannes police to report his death. While inside with the police trying to tell their story, their car is stolen - with dead Great Uncle George in the back seat. You know? I wanted to be with the thieves when they discovered they had stolen a dead body! Of course that isn't where the novel takes us and I had to forego that bit of humor.
Littlejohn enters the case because he happened to be vacationing in the vicinity and was known to the young man through a family tie. Littlejohn is fluent in French and helps the young couple who barely speak the language. The investigation continues in London.
I'm glad to have learned about Bellairs and I think I will enjoy the others I have picked up on the cheap. There may not be anything spectacular about either his prose or his characterizations, but I have nothing to complain about them either. For me, this was different enough for it to feel fresh. Not fresh as in 21st Century, fresh as not in the same old run of the mill detective novel. Please note that I say "for me" because I suspect if I were to read enough of them 'fresh' would probably no longer be accurate. This is a solid 3-stars, which is my next-to-top rating for the mystery genre.
February 6, 2023
Re-read after many years.
Another story where Littlejohn is on holiday in Provence and somebody gets murdered. If one can ignore this dreadful formulaic set of circumstances (which I can) then this is not a bad read at all. The action does move back to England where most of the detection is done by Cromwell, now promoted to Inspector. Unusually, it is not set in some provincial town but in The City of London with occasional ventures to Great Missenden.
The plot is original with a slightly far fetched ending but I thoroughly enjoyed it but then I am a Bellairs fan. I like his witty descriptions of the characters.
Actually worth a bit more than 3 stars but not really a 4.
Another story where Littlejohn is on holiday in Provence and somebody gets murdered. If one can ignore this dreadful formulaic set of circumstances (which I can) then this is not a bad read at all. The action does move back to England where most of the detection is done by Cromwell, now promoted to Inspector. Unusually, it is not set in some provincial town but in The City of London with occasional ventures to Great Missenden.
The plot is original with a slightly far fetched ending but I thoroughly enjoyed it but then I am a Bellairs fan. I like his witty descriptions of the characters.
Actually worth a bit more than 3 stars but not really a 4.
January 13, 2018
An entertaining investigation into the death of stockbroker George Kellagher in the French maquis takes us back mainly to the city of London and Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire (where author Roald Dahl lived).
Although it is Littlejohn whose peace is interrupted while on holiday after yet another gruelling international police conference, most of the routine work is done by newly-promoted Inspector Cromwell.
Some interesting characters and caricatures make appearances.There are financial shenanigans of various sorts at the heart of the mystery: the author's background in banking is drawn on profitably.
The solution was not too difficult to determine.
Although it is Littlejohn whose peace is interrupted while on holiday after yet another gruelling international police conference, most of the routine work is done by newly-promoted Inspector Cromwell.
Some interesting characters and caricatures make appearances.There are financial shenanigans of various sorts at the heart of the mystery: the author's background in banking is drawn on profitably.
The solution was not too difficult to determine.
May 1, 2017
A nasty man gets his reward. Of course he was a stock broker everyone hated. Cromwell's distant cousin Waldo is initially held for questioning in Cannes where he had been vacationing with his wife and his uncle, the deceased. Much of the book is comical. Some of it is boringly formulaic and does not come up to the imaginative telling the author was capable of.
October 5, 2025
The English get even with the French for the Hundred Years War.
I almost skipped this because it starts in France, where Superintendent Littlejohn and his wife are visiting friends. I prefer the Littlejohn mysteries set in southern England or the Isle of Man, but this turned out to be one of his best.
Naturally, there's a murder and Scotland Yard's Great Man is called to action. He's tempted to hide under the bed, but Waldo Keelager is related to Littlejohn's long-time sidekick Sergeant Cromwell. Cromwell has finally been promoted to Inspector and his old boss is happy for him, but they miss working together. And Waldo IS Cromwell's cousin....
Waldo's Great-Uncle George has died and the corpse has disappeared. Waldo and wife Averil were looking forward to a quiet vacation in their fancy new caravan (RV) but Uncle George insisted on coming with them to study insects. They find George's body in front of the caravan one morning and assume he's died of natural causes.
Here's where things get weird. Waldo falls apart and can't drive for help or wait there while Averil goes for help. According to her, he was tortured by the Nazi Gestapo during WWII and has never recovered. So they stick Uncle's body in the back of the car and drive to the nearest police station. Sadly, the car (with body) is stolen. The French police suspect murder and are eyeing the nephew (and heir) very suspiciously.
Waldo's alleged ailment is an example of an ageing writer "writing in the past." This book was published in 1962. WWII was almost twenty years in the rear view mirror, yet the Keelagers are said to be a young couple. Dead George was Waldo's great-uncle and he was in his early sixties, so it looks like Waldo would have been a child during the war.
Whatever. He's an irritating nervous wreck, but Averil has guts enough for two with some left over. She's English, but the tall, blonde, blue-eyed beauty must have a strong shot of Viking blood in her veins. By the time she gets through with him, Inspector Joliclerc has his head in his hands and is happy to release the suspect to Littlejohn's reluctant custody. Considering that Littlejohn is always going on about the brutality of French police methods, this speaks well for Mrs Waldo.
The police are looking for the car and the body, but the Keelagers were camping in one of the most remote, rugged regions on earth. The French Resistance fighters hid from the Germans there and it's NOT an easy area to comb.
Meanwhile, Littlejohn and Cromwell are looking into the wider Keelager family and find it's quicker to say who didn't want to murder Uncle George than who did. He has five nephews who are hoping to inherit. His sister hates him and fears he's trying to steal her inheritance. The man who'll be replacing him at the stock brokerage stands to gain by his death. He was a vicious, greedy old bastard and whoever offed him should be given a citatation, but that's not the way things work.
Uncle George has cheated everyone at some time. Littlejohn calls on the Yard's fraud expert to look into the financial shenanigans. This would have been mother's milk to the author (a bank manager) but I couldn't follow it and Littlejohn seemed lost a couple of times, too.
There are lots of complications and I didn't figure out the guilty party until the very end, but I usually don't. Both the parts set in France and those set in England make good use of the settings. The characters are varied and believable. Bellairs' humor is as delightful as ever. This is really a fine series and I'm sorry more people aren't aware of it.
I almost skipped this because it starts in France, where Superintendent Littlejohn and his wife are visiting friends. I prefer the Littlejohn mysteries set in southern England or the Isle of Man, but this turned out to be one of his best.
Naturally, there's a murder and Scotland Yard's Great Man is called to action. He's tempted to hide under the bed, but Waldo Keelager is related to Littlejohn's long-time sidekick Sergeant Cromwell. Cromwell has finally been promoted to Inspector and his old boss is happy for him, but they miss working together. And Waldo IS Cromwell's cousin....
Waldo's Great-Uncle George has died and the corpse has disappeared. Waldo and wife Averil were looking forward to a quiet vacation in their fancy new caravan (RV) but Uncle George insisted on coming with them to study insects. They find George's body in front of the caravan one morning and assume he's died of natural causes.
Here's where things get weird. Waldo falls apart and can't drive for help or wait there while Averil goes for help. According to her, he was tortured by the Nazi Gestapo during WWII and has never recovered. So they stick Uncle's body in the back of the car and drive to the nearest police station. Sadly, the car (with body) is stolen. The French police suspect murder and are eyeing the nephew (and heir) very suspiciously.
Waldo's alleged ailment is an example of an ageing writer "writing in the past." This book was published in 1962. WWII was almost twenty years in the rear view mirror, yet the Keelagers are said to be a young couple. Dead George was Waldo's great-uncle and he was in his early sixties, so it looks like Waldo would have been a child during the war.
Whatever. He's an irritating nervous wreck, but Averil has guts enough for two with some left over. She's English, but the tall, blonde, blue-eyed beauty must have a strong shot of Viking blood in her veins. By the time she gets through with him, Inspector Joliclerc has his head in his hands and is happy to release the suspect to Littlejohn's reluctant custody. Considering that Littlejohn is always going on about the brutality of French police methods, this speaks well for Mrs Waldo.
The police are looking for the car and the body, but the Keelagers were camping in one of the most remote, rugged regions on earth. The French Resistance fighters hid from the Germans there and it's NOT an easy area to comb.
Meanwhile, Littlejohn and Cromwell are looking into the wider Keelager family and find it's quicker to say who didn't want to murder Uncle George than who did. He has five nephews who are hoping to inherit. His sister hates him and fears he's trying to steal her inheritance. The man who'll be replacing him at the stock brokerage stands to gain by his death. He was a vicious, greedy old bastard and whoever offed him should be given a citatation, but that's not the way things work.
Uncle George has cheated everyone at some time. Littlejohn calls on the Yard's fraud expert to look into the financial shenanigans. This would have been mother's milk to the author (a bank manager) but I couldn't follow it and Littlejohn seemed lost a couple of times, too.
There are lots of complications and I didn't figure out the guilty party until the very end, but I usually don't. Both the parts set in France and those set in England make good use of the settings. The characters are varied and believable. Bellairs' humor is as delightful as ever. This is really a fine series and I'm sorry more people aren't aware of it.
May 22, 2017
Just what you need, your on holiday in the South of France enjoying a sunny afternoon, drink in hand when a call comes from a friend of a friend (a cousin actually) who needs your professional help. The call is for the famous Littlejohn of the yard and the caller a cousin of the newly promoted Inspector Cromwell, the cousin Waldo who's Uncle George has died on holiday near Cannes, so he has wrapped him up taken him to the police station in his car which gets stolen whilst he and his beautiful wife are in the police station reporting it with Uncle George still in the now stolen can.
So Littlejohn has to come and help as you'd expect and some great twists and turns are enjoyed on route to answers. The humour is at George Bellairs best and the adventure is well worth joining in by reading. If you are planning to wed a Cromwell or a Keelagher ( the usual mixture of great names and Mustaches) it may be worth checking that they aren't related to this lot apart from Inspector Cromwell and Waldo they all appear to be divorced or Bachelors / Spinsters. However if you are a solicitor well think i should be on 10% for the tip. But i do highly recommend this book another page turner from from the very 1st page.
So Littlejohn has to come and help as you'd expect and some great twists and turns are enjoyed on route to answers. The humour is at George Bellairs best and the adventure is well worth joining in by reading. If you are planning to wed a Cromwell or a Keelagher ( the usual mixture of great names and Mustaches) it may be worth checking that they aren't related to this lot apart from Inspector Cromwell and Waldo they all appear to be divorced or Bachelors / Spinsters. However if you are a solicitor well think i should be on 10% for the tip. But i do highly recommend this book another page turner from from the very 1st page.
November 21, 2019
Excellent
This novel is mainly set in the south of France where Detective Superintendent Littlejohn is on holiday with his wife at their friend Inspector Dorange's family home, whilst there he takes a telephone call from a distant cousin of his sidekick Inspector Cromwell. Waldo and his wife Averil are on holiday in the south of France in a caravan with his Uncle George when they wake one morning to discover he is dead. Thinking that the cause of death was something natural like a heart attack or something similar they decide to put the body in the car and transport it to the nearest big city to report it. The trouble begins when their car is stolen with the body of Uncle George inside. The French police are having problems believing their story and Waldo had read recently that Chief Superintendent Littlejohn was in France and being his cousins superior they ask for his assistance in the case.
This novel is mainly set in the south of France where Detective Superintendent Littlejohn is on holiday with his wife at their friend Inspector Dorange's family home, whilst there he takes a telephone call from a distant cousin of his sidekick Inspector Cromwell. Waldo and his wife Averil are on holiday in the south of France in a caravan with his Uncle George when they wake one morning to discover he is dead. Thinking that the cause of death was something natural like a heart attack or something similar they decide to put the body in the car and transport it to the nearest big city to report it. The trouble begins when their car is stolen with the body of Uncle George inside. The French police are having problems believing their story and Waldo had read recently that Chief Superintendent Littlejohn was in France and being his cousins superior they ask for his assistance in the case.
March 8, 2018
An excellent Superintendent (how time flies) Littlejohn book - although he shares centre stage with the newly promoted Inspector Cromwell in this one.
After Uncle George's corpse goes missing during Waldo and Averil's Riviera caravan holiday, Waldo calls on Littlejohn who just happens to be holidaying in the same region.
This one has some great characters, possibly the best in the installments I've read to date, and an engaging storyline.
I still think these books would make an excellent period TV series. Each novel is self-contained and not overly-complicated.
After Uncle George's corpse goes missing during Waldo and Averil's Riviera caravan holiday, Waldo calls on Littlejohn who just happens to be holidaying in the same region.
This one has some great characters, possibly the best in the installments I've read to date, and an engaging storyline.
I still think these books would make an excellent period TV series. Each novel is self-contained and not overly-complicated.
January 14, 2022
I enjoy the way Bellairs manages to amuse without being offensive while writing about both sad and terrible human frailty. Yes, it’s true some thoroughly wicked characters get their come-uppance, but no one is immune from weakness and deceit. He writes with intelligence and compassion.
Although out of the time frame, it is an intelligent precursor of a growing sub-genre of crime books involving, shall we say, senior citizens. It’s a very worthy contribution.
Although out of the time frame, it is an intelligent precursor of a growing sub-genre of crime books involving, shall we say, senior citizens. It’s a very worthy contribution.
December 9, 2024
Waldo and his wife take a vacation in their new caravan to France. They are dismayed their uncle wants to join them. When he ends up dead, they put him in their car to take the body to the police. But when they go out to the car, it's been stolen. Littlejohn, who is on a short vacation nearby, gets pulled in to the situation when Waldo and his wife are suspects. Can he unravel what really happened?
Great classic mystery.
Great classic mystery.
March 18, 2018
Well it starts out on the Riviera, so got my interest immediately. Unfortunately, it went a little downhill after that but still an interesting read. Good enough for me to give it 3 stars anyway.
December 18, 2018
Early Bird Book Deal | Interesting characters but the dull section is very dull | Miss Lucy in particular was fun, but the whole portion about the trust was really boring.
January 15, 2020
Jumble
This plot read so jumbled it was extremely difficult to
follow. Maybe the earlier books set the stage. Will try anotjer .
This plot read so jumbled it was extremely difficult to
follow. Maybe the earlier books set the stage. Will try anotjer .
January 31, 2022
Engaging and intriguing, as ever.
January 2, 2023
Have really enjoyed this series
I've been binge reading this series and have enjoyed the books very much. Old fashioned police procedure and intelligent people solve the mystery.
I've been binge reading this series and have enjoyed the books very much. Old fashioned police procedure and intelligent people solve the mystery.
June 25, 2024
Another quirky family and murder. As always, I enjoy how well the author always describes his characters in an unflattering way.
The solution made sense but was far fetched
The solution made sense but was far fetched
January 18, 2022
Littlejohn’s French Riviera holiday is spoilt by the murder of a distance cousin of his colleague Cromwell. He is drawn into the French end, while in London the investigation centres on the stockbroker’s firm where the deceased was a partner. Not the best, and a little far fetched of solution, but still fun.
April 29, 2018
Another great story from George Bellaires. This one is set in England and France. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it. Now for the next one.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews