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Chief Inspector Littlejohn #16
The Case of the Headless Jesuit
For centuries Cobbold-in-the-Marsh has been haunted by the ghost of a Jesuit priest who lost his head rather than deny his faith. Since then, there hasn't been much bloodshed in this peculiar little village, but all that changes during the icy week just after Christmas. First a policeman is found drowned in the canal, a tragic death that shows signs of foul play. Then, as the whole town gathers for midnight mass on New Year's Eve, the prodigal son of the manor house staggers down the aisle. The congregation thinks he's drunk – until they notice the blood seeping down his side.
Detective-Inspector Thomas Littlejohn and Detective-Sergeant Robert Cromwell are called in from Scotland Yard to oversee the investigation. As they dig into the quirks and secrets of this eerie little enclave, they find that Cobbold is haunted by more than a decapitated priest.
229 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1950
203 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
George Bellairs
73 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 31 reviews
November 27, 2020
I think maybe this makes about 32 of the Bellairs books I have read featuring Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard. This one would not be one of my favorites as I have always favored the Isle of Man adventures in crime if memory serves. It had been a while, so it was a pleasant visit to the countryside and a population of lying country people who keep Littlejohn and Cromwell running from town to town in pursuit of the truth.
from 1950
Kindle Unlimited
from 1950
Kindle Unlimited
March 14, 2022
I find Bellairs writing to be so close to perfect that I just eat up all the words he writes. He truely is an incredible Crime Writer.
I find the character of Littlejohn to be one of, if not my actual favourite detective (I mean in this book, he takes in a victims now owner less dog and gives it a home!)
As for the book, perfect, a family curse, a death on New Year's Eve, a village filled with secrets and lies, An empty country house and a treasure what more do you need!
A perfect read for me! A definite 5 star.
I find the character of Littlejohn to be one of, if not my actual favourite detective (I mean in this book, he takes in a victims now owner less dog and gives it a home!)
As for the book, perfect, a family curse, a death on New Year's Eve, a village filled with secrets and lies, An empty country house and a treasure what more do you need!
A perfect read for me! A definite 5 star.
August 7, 2018
Detective Inspector Thomas Littlejohn heads to Cobbold-in-the-Marsh to investigate the murders of a constable and Granville Salter, the scion of the family that once owned the manor house. Who would have a reason to kill both a bobby and the Salter heir? Several other deaths occur before Littlejohn and his trusted Sergeant Robert Cromwell track down the clever murderer. The title refers to an old legend of a marauding murdered ghost said to haunt Salter Hall.
Readers will find The Case of the Headless Jesuit one of George Bellairs’ most innovative novels. I never guessed who the murderer was — or even what the motive was. With plenty of twists, memorable characters and a sly send-up of both High and Low churches, the 16th novel in this series is one of the best.
Readers will find The Case of the Headless Jesuit one of George Bellairs’ most innovative novels. I never guessed who the murderer was — or even what the motive was. With plenty of twists, memorable characters and a sly send-up of both High and Low churches, the 16th novel in this series is one of the best.
January 6, 2022
This murder is set over the New Year period in 1950's England and part of a long -running series. Some of the local characters are beautifully portrayed and there is a lot of humour in the story. There was an old tale of hidden treasure and a headless Jesuit.and it was all going so well. I was sure it would be a 4 star rating but the end felt like a bit of a cop-out and so it was down to my usual 3 stars. Well worth reading but not outstanding
March 1, 2023
This was...a lot. Too much, really. A ghost story, myth about a long-last family treasure, family secrets and treachery, and a lot of death (four murders and a suicide). I think it was the last one that put it over the top for me - it just felt like a step too far. Still, I enjoyed this little jaunt out to the English countryside with Littlejohn and Cromwell.
December 17, 2017
For the life of me, I do not remember how I came across the name George Bellairs! It had to be serendipitous, but whatever – I am happy it happened! A quick Internet search showed Bellairs was the pen-name of one Harold Blundell (1902-1985), a bank manager who wrote crime novels on the side, producing more than fifty books. That he wrote so many over the course of decades indicates he had what in modern parlance is called a “solid fan base.”
And I came across him just as I was searching for something different to read in crime fiction, having become fed up and disgusted by the gory violence that seems to pervade so many of the recent books, notably those designated as “Nordic Noir.”
In The Case of the Headless Jesuit, Bellairs’ protagonist, Inspector Littlejohn and his sidekick, Cromwell, are called to an otherwise quiet English village on New Year’s Day, when not one, but two murders occurred. A young man, a former resident of the village ad scion of the local gentry family fallen on hard times, interrupts the Processional marking the beginning of the New Year’s midnight service, stumbling into the sanctuary with a fatal knife wound. Then a local bobby is found drowned in a canal, his head bashed in.
Are the two murders in this otherwise sleepy village related? In the course of their investigation, two more murders occur. Add to the mix centuries-old rumors of Royalist gold hidden at the manor house during the Civil War, as well as the spectre of a headless Jesuit who had been executed having been hiding in a “priest’s hole.”
There is gentle humor throughout, starting on the fist page, where the choirs of the village’s two churches are seemingly in competition to sing in the New Year first! And the names of some of the villagers are straight out of Dickens or W C Field!
One note, possibly “politically incorrect” today, was the way Bellairs presented the speech of the villagers. In Bellairs’ defense I can say that it probably approximated the dialect of the semi-literate rural folk at that time, adding both color and humor to the dialogue. But let us not forget, the book was written in the late 1940s - England was very different then.
George Bellairs is certainly my most recent favorite writer. I look forward to reading more of his mysteries/ Fortunately, an increasing number are returning to print, ink and digital. With more than 50, I shall be happily engaged for some time to come!
And I came across him just as I was searching for something different to read in crime fiction, having become fed up and disgusted by the gory violence that seems to pervade so many of the recent books, notably those designated as “Nordic Noir.”
In The Case of the Headless Jesuit, Bellairs’ protagonist, Inspector Littlejohn and his sidekick, Cromwell, are called to an otherwise quiet English village on New Year’s Day, when not one, but two murders occurred. A young man, a former resident of the village ad scion of the local gentry family fallen on hard times, interrupts the Processional marking the beginning of the New Year’s midnight service, stumbling into the sanctuary with a fatal knife wound. Then a local bobby is found drowned in a canal, his head bashed in.
Are the two murders in this otherwise sleepy village related? In the course of their investigation, two more murders occur. Add to the mix centuries-old rumors of Royalist gold hidden at the manor house during the Civil War, as well as the spectre of a headless Jesuit who had been executed having been hiding in a “priest’s hole.”
There is gentle humor throughout, starting on the fist page, where the choirs of the village’s two churches are seemingly in competition to sing in the New Year first! And the names of some of the villagers are straight out of Dickens or W C Field!
One note, possibly “politically incorrect” today, was the way Bellairs presented the speech of the villagers. In Bellairs’ defense I can say that it probably approximated the dialect of the semi-literate rural folk at that time, adding both color and humor to the dialogue. But let us not forget, the book was written in the late 1940s - England was very different then.
George Bellairs is certainly my most recent favorite writer. I look forward to reading more of his mysteries/ Fortunately, an increasing number are returning to print, ink and digital. With more than 50, I shall be happily engaged for some time to come!
July 26, 2020
A fairly average earlier Bellairs, in which humour and characterisation rather overwhelm the detection. The solution, unusually for this author, seemed to come out of nowhere. Despite four deaths, this was a bit 'bloodless' for me. There seemed to be endless complications, and a lot of detailed evidence to work on, but in the end the solution was rather hurried.
It is great fun with lots of quirky characters and names, and the usual potshots at religion, both established and dissenter.The headless Jesuit is neatly worked in, but the plot is rather unsatisfying.
3.5 stars.
It is great fun with lots of quirky characters and names, and the usual potshots at religion, both established and dissenter.The headless Jesuit is neatly worked in, but the plot is rather unsatisfying.
3.5 stars.
January 3, 2019
An highly enjoyable read, with well drawn characters and many twists and turns. The bodies are fact, but it seems a slippery situation to get someone to tell the truth.
The inciting murder happens right on New Year’s Eve, and then on New Year’s day the investigation begins. The season is melded perfectly into the storyline. Inspector Littlejohn is a pleasant detective. He is an insightful man who watches carefully, and his right hand man Cromwell is equal to the task of sniffing out information as well. A good team to watch gathering threads of information.
Swift reading, and the last several chapters have many many twists and turns.
The inciting murder happens right on New Year’s Eve, and then on New Year’s day the investigation begins. The season is melded perfectly into the storyline. Inspector Littlejohn is a pleasant detective. He is an insightful man who watches carefully, and his right hand man Cromwell is equal to the task of sniffing out information as well. A good team to watch gathering threads of information.
Swift reading, and the last several chapters have many many twists and turns.
April 3, 2022
Three and a half stars.
I agree with other reviewers that this is not one of Bellairs' best books but I enjoyed it nevertheless. His witty descriptions of the characters and some their foibles always amuse me and even though the plot was a little weak, it was a nice comfortable, lightweight read.
I agree with other reviewers that this is not one of Bellairs' best books but I enjoyed it nevertheless. His witty descriptions of the characters and some their foibles always amuse me and even though the plot was a little weak, it was a nice comfortable, lightweight read.
October 31, 2020
Inspector Littlejohn starts the New Year with an investigation in a small village, where the New Year's Eve church service has been disrupted by the intrusion of a dying man, bleeding from a stab wound. This turns out to be Granville Salter, the last of the local squires, who occasionally returned to the village to hang about his old ancestral home (now in state of decay) and connect with old friends, most notably Phyllis, his old nurse's daughter. And this is not the only murder in the sleepy village : a local bobby has been clobbered on the head and left to drown. What the heck is going on?
Inspector Littlejohn and Sergeant Cromwell have to untangle a web of 30-year old scandals, the local myth of the Headless Jesuit, rumors of the Salter Treasure, to get at the truth. Fortunately, the local constable and his hospitable wife are able to provide help.
I found the plot average, and I've had my fill of priest's holes and hidden treasures in old country mansions. I did like the secondary characters, though. Miss Fothergill, playing atonal masterpieces on the piano in her cottage. The constable's wife, so proud of her man and so protective of her four beautiful daughters. The feud between the local coroner and an antiques dealer, both of them fancying themselves experts in the myth of the Headless Jesuit... . I also liked the fact that Littlejohn bonds with the dead man's faithful dog and ends up taking him home to London.
The book was written in the late 1940s, so there is mention of rationing, of people who were killed or disappeared during WWII, a sense of things not being what they used to be... but with no one really clear on what society would look like.
Inspector Littlejohn and Sergeant Cromwell have to untangle a web of 30-year old scandals, the local myth of the Headless Jesuit, rumors of the Salter Treasure, to get at the truth. Fortunately, the local constable and his hospitable wife are able to provide help.
I found the plot average, and I've had my fill of priest's holes and hidden treasures in old country mansions. I did like the secondary characters, though. Miss Fothergill, playing atonal masterpieces on the piano in her cottage. The constable's wife, so proud of her man and so protective of her four beautiful daughters. The feud between the local coroner and an antiques dealer, both of them fancying themselves experts in the myth of the Headless Jesuit... . I also liked the fact that Littlejohn bonds with the dead man's faithful dog and ends up taking him home to London.
The book was written in the late 1940s, so there is mention of rationing, of people who were killed or disappeared during WWII, a sense of things not being what they used to be... but with no one really clear on what society would look like.
April 11, 2020
Dead bodies galore
Called to a small English village in the fen country, two detectives from Scotland Yard not only solve the current mysterious death, but a previous death and two more to boot! If you like English names, this book is full of great examples. A good mystery and amusing to boot.
Called to a small English village in the fen country, two detectives from Scotland Yard not only solve the current mysterious death, but a previous death and two more to boot! If you like English names, this book is full of great examples. A good mystery and amusing to boot.
December 27, 2018
Inspector Littlejohn and Cromwell are called to investigate death in a little town which has rumors of a headless Jesuit ghost. A man staggers into a Christmas service and dies plus a bobby has gone missing. Scotland Yard has to figure out what is going on.
Good story and well-written.
Good story and well-written.
November 9, 2019
Enjoyable Vintage Mystery
This mystery deals with the consequences of lying and reception in 1950's England. It's the first book I've read by George Bellaires and I quite enjoyed it once I finished the Prologue which I found a but dull. I plan to read more.
This mystery deals with the consequences of lying and reception in 1950's England. It's the first book I've read by George Bellaires and I quite enjoyed it once I finished the Prologue which I found a but dull. I plan to read more.
February 3, 2019
Surprising ending. Very good read.
June 16, 2024
Good old George - the most reliable man I've ever known.
"George Bellairs" was actually Harold Blundell, a bank manager in Lancashire and a part-time mystery writer. Starting during WWII, he wrote numerous books featuring London Metropolitan Police Inspector Thomas Littlejohn. I'm reading them in order and almost all of them are above average. BLCC editor Martin Edwards included several in that series, but even those that missed the cut are worth your time.
It's New Year's Eve and both the congregation at St Mark's (Church of England parish church) and the rival gang at the nearby methodist chapel are singing in the New Year. Cobbold-in-the-Marsh is a small, sleepy village and good behavior is the norm. So everyone is shocked when a young man staggers drunkenly into the church and collapses. Sure, some of them will be toasting the New Year at the proper time, but NOT to the point of passing out!
Their shock is even greater when they realize that Granville Salter isn't drunk, but dying of a stab wound inflicted by someone he met on his way to the church. He's the last of the once-wealthy family that owned Cobbold Hall for generations before they had to sell it. Although he now lives in London, he's a frequent visitor to Cobbold. He comes to visit his former nanny and the beautiful young woman he hopes to marry.
Police Constable Pennyquick is at the church with his wife and four attractive grown daughters. He alerts Superintendent Percival, who phones London for help. Inspector Littlejohn and Sergeant Cromwell leave their family celebrations and hop on a train to the marshy village. Duty calls.
"Bodies Piled Up" was the name of an old Dashiell Hammett story and wouldn't be a bad title for this book. Even before Granville Salter was murdered, the PC in a neighboring beat was knocked unconscious and pushed into the marsh to drown. The death of a police officer is shocking enough, but Salter's death is even more personal. Most of the villagers worked for the Salters in the past and all have known the family heir since his birth. Then a crook-turned-private-detective meets a sticky end. What on earth is happening in this formerly quiet, law-abiding village?
Even though Cobbold Hall is abandoned, the mystery centers around it. The Salter family were good employers and many of the villagers have happy memories of working there. Their loyalty to the family keeps them quiet, even when they have information that could help Littlejohn and Cromwell solve the murders. The Hall is an ancient building and there's talk of a hidden "priest hole" and maybe even a long-lost treasure. Everyone wants to find a treasure trove, right?
I like everything about this book. The Pennyquick family is delightful and speaks to the societal changes in the post-WWII period. Mrs Pennyquick wants to get her pretty daughters married off, but their father encourages them to have careers and to take their time before rushing into marriage. It's a new idea, but it's catching on.
Granville Salter died trying to get information about the girl he wanted to marry. There's a mystery about her heritage. Was she his cousin or even more closely related? His father was known to be wild in his youth, but wasn't the only Salter who broke the rules. Young Gerald is also trying to recover his family fortune by solving the riddle of the Headless Jesuit. Others are trying to beat him to the loot and some of them aren't above murder.
While most of the Salter's old employees were loyal and honest, one wasn't. He was also the one who had the information needed to make life very unpleasant for them. He's been missing for years, but now he may be much too close for comfort. Is he involved in the murders and (if so) where is he hiding and who's helping him?
There are old scandals and deep, dark secrets (most known to everyone in the village.) There are violent personal feuds, many going back decades and likely to end only when one of the rivals is dead. And (as always) there are greedy, gullible people. Littlejohn and Cromwell must keep asking questions and then asking them again as they compile the information they need to see a pattern. It's slow, but steady police work - part skill, part luck.
Like a cop, a bank manager sees people at their most vulnerable and (assuming he's discrete) takes the secrets of many families to the grave with him. Things change, but human nature remains the same. A shrewd policeman knows that getting information (with charm, threats, or any other way) will eventually allow him to collect all the pieces of the puzzle.
In this case, some of the murders were committed by the usual suspects, but one guilty party is a shocker. Never underestimate the power of family love. I love this series.
"George Bellairs" was actually Harold Blundell, a bank manager in Lancashire and a part-time mystery writer. Starting during WWII, he wrote numerous books featuring London Metropolitan Police Inspector Thomas Littlejohn. I'm reading them in order and almost all of them are above average. BLCC editor Martin Edwards included several in that series, but even those that missed the cut are worth your time.
It's New Year's Eve and both the congregation at St Mark's (Church of England parish church) and the rival gang at the nearby methodist chapel are singing in the New Year. Cobbold-in-the-Marsh is a small, sleepy village and good behavior is the norm. So everyone is shocked when a young man staggers drunkenly into the church and collapses. Sure, some of them will be toasting the New Year at the proper time, but NOT to the point of passing out!
Their shock is even greater when they realize that Granville Salter isn't drunk, but dying of a stab wound inflicted by someone he met on his way to the church. He's the last of the once-wealthy family that owned Cobbold Hall for generations before they had to sell it. Although he now lives in London, he's a frequent visitor to Cobbold. He comes to visit his former nanny and the beautiful young woman he hopes to marry.
Police Constable Pennyquick is at the church with his wife and four attractive grown daughters. He alerts Superintendent Percival, who phones London for help. Inspector Littlejohn and Sergeant Cromwell leave their family celebrations and hop on a train to the marshy village. Duty calls.
"Bodies Piled Up" was the name of an old Dashiell Hammett story and wouldn't be a bad title for this book. Even before Granville Salter was murdered, the PC in a neighboring beat was knocked unconscious and pushed into the marsh to drown. The death of a police officer is shocking enough, but Salter's death is even more personal. Most of the villagers worked for the Salters in the past and all have known the family heir since his birth. Then a crook-turned-private-detective meets a sticky end. What on earth is happening in this formerly quiet, law-abiding village?
Even though Cobbold Hall is abandoned, the mystery centers around it. The Salter family were good employers and many of the villagers have happy memories of working there. Their loyalty to the family keeps them quiet, even when they have information that could help Littlejohn and Cromwell solve the murders. The Hall is an ancient building and there's talk of a hidden "priest hole" and maybe even a long-lost treasure. Everyone wants to find a treasure trove, right?
I like everything about this book. The Pennyquick family is delightful and speaks to the societal changes in the post-WWII period. Mrs Pennyquick wants to get her pretty daughters married off, but their father encourages them to have careers and to take their time before rushing into marriage. It's a new idea, but it's catching on.
Granville Salter died trying to get information about the girl he wanted to marry. There's a mystery about her heritage. Was she his cousin or even more closely related? His father was known to be wild in his youth, but wasn't the only Salter who broke the rules. Young Gerald is also trying to recover his family fortune by solving the riddle of the Headless Jesuit. Others are trying to beat him to the loot and some of them aren't above murder.
While most of the Salter's old employees were loyal and honest, one wasn't. He was also the one who had the information needed to make life very unpleasant for them. He's been missing for years, but now he may be much too close for comfort. Is he involved in the murders and (if so) where is he hiding and who's helping him?
There are old scandals and deep, dark secrets (most known to everyone in the village.) There are violent personal feuds, many going back decades and likely to end only when one of the rivals is dead. And (as always) there are greedy, gullible people. Littlejohn and Cromwell must keep asking questions and then asking them again as they compile the information they need to see a pattern. It's slow, but steady police work - part skill, part luck.
Like a cop, a bank manager sees people at their most vulnerable and (assuming he's discrete) takes the secrets of many families to the grave with him. Things change, but human nature remains the same. A shrewd policeman knows that getting information (with charm, threats, or any other way) will eventually allow him to collect all the pieces of the puzzle.
In this case, some of the murders were committed by the usual suspects, but one guilty party is a shocker. Never underestimate the power of family love. I love this series.
January 9, 2019
3.5 stars, actually. One of the better entries I've read in this series. I'd give it four stars, but the effort to render the local/class speech patterns into printed form grates on me. (This is a problem I have with the entire series, and many other police procedurals written around this time period.)
December 27, 2019
Enjoyable Read
I really enjoyed this one. The end was a bit anticlimactic but everything leading up to the end was clever and entertaining. It was loaded with mystery and humor. Recommend to mystery lovers.
I really enjoyed this one. The end was a bit anticlimactic but everything leading up to the end was clever and entertaining. It was loaded with mystery and humor. Recommend to mystery lovers.
June 15, 2020
A good series.
No. Iolence, except for the requisite deaths. He two police officers behave like civilized people and get along just fine. This one was rather contorted and the ending was somewhat unsatisfactory to me. But I enjoyed reading it and will continue with the series.
No. Iolence, except for the requisite deaths. He two police officers behave like civilized people and get along just fine. This one was rather contorted and the ending was somewhat unsatisfactory to me. But I enjoyed reading it and will continue with the series.
November 17, 2020
Good mystery!
This book was enthralling, and it had believable characters as well as a good plot. I must admit I was surprised at the killer's identity. I highly recommend this police procedural to other readers who enjoy mysteries.
This book was enthralling, and it had believable characters as well as a good plot. I must admit I was surprised at the killer's identity. I highly recommend this police procedural to other readers who enjoy mysteries.
June 5, 2023
3.5 stars. A treasure hunt, with the titular headless Jesuit as a clue, a small village with torturous genealogical connections and 4 murders. Bellairs does very well with the cozy yet nasty atmospherics of mid 20th century rural English life.
December 23, 2018
Kindle Unlimited | A pretty good installment. | This was twisty, the final suspects could have been a number of different characters, and the motives could have been any of a varied few.
January 10, 2020
Read Harder Challenge 2020 - Task 3 - Read a mystery where the victim(s) is not a woman.
May 25, 2020
Excellent Mystery
This was a fine thriller with a great ending characteristic of this writer. The characters were interesting and well described.
This was a fine thriller with a great ending characteristic of this writer. The characters were interesting and well described.
June 18, 2021
This is a Littlejohn and Cromwell story, with the usual colorful village types, but the story dragged a bit, and seemed unnecessarily complicated.
November 16, 2022
Excellent.
September 2, 2023
A lot of characters to keep straight. This one felt like it plodded along.
March 31, 2025
Another Thomas Littlejohn story worth reading
May 1, 2025
I have read and enjoyed many George Bellairs’ Littlejohn novels and this one of my favourites . Witty, cleverly plotted and paced perfectly, it is a good example of 1950s crime fiction at its best.
August 1, 2020
A clever murder mystery - not my favourite in the series, but still good. And it's where Littlejohn gets his dog from too!
August 17, 2019
This was my first George Bellairs/Thomas Littlejohn mystery.
I enjoyed it but felt it didn't deliver on its promise as far as atmosphere was concerned. After all, when there is talk of a headless priest haunting and hidden treasure, I don't think it's too much to expect. The Scotland Yard detectives seemed rather lackadaisical concerning the investigation but maybe that's how they are in this series.
The odd/eccentric characters made this book better than average and kept me interested.
Three and one half stars overall.
I enjoyed it but felt it didn't deliver on its promise as far as atmosphere was concerned. After all, when there is talk of a headless priest haunting and hidden treasure, I don't think it's too much to expect. The Scotland Yard detectives seemed rather lackadaisical concerning the investigation but maybe that's how they are in this series.
The odd/eccentric characters made this book better than average and kept me interested.
Three and one half stars overall.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews