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Flaxborough Chronicles #2
Bump in the Night
Tuesday nights have suddenly turned quite ridiculously noisy in the country town of Chalmsbury, where the good folk are outraged at having their rest disturbed.
It begins with a drinking fountain being blown to smithereens – next the statue of a local worthy loses his head, and the following week a giant glass eye is exploded. Despite the soft-soled sleuthing of cub reporter Len Leaper, the crime spate grows alarming.
Sheer vandalism is bad enough, but when a life is lost the amiable Inspector Purbright, called in from nearby Flaxborough to assist in enquiries, finds he must delve deep into the seamier side of this quiet town’s goings on.
Witty and a little wicked, Colin Watson’s tales offer a mordantly entertaining cast of characters and laugh-out-loud wordplay.
It begins with a drinking fountain being blown to smithereens – next the statue of a local worthy loses his head, and the following week a giant glass eye is exploded. Despite the soft-soled sleuthing of cub reporter Len Leaper, the crime spate grows alarming.
Sheer vandalism is bad enough, but when a life is lost the amiable Inspector Purbright, called in from nearby Flaxborough to assist in enquiries, finds he must delve deep into the seamier side of this quiet town’s goings on.
Witty and a little wicked, Colin Watson’s tales offer a mordantly entertaining cast of characters and laugh-out-loud wordplay.
164 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1960
124 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Colin Watson
64 books29 followersColin Watson was educated at the Whitgift School in South Croydon, London. During his career as a journalist he worked in London and Newcastle-on-Tyne, where he was a leader-writer for Kemsley Newspapers.
His book Hopjoy Was Here (1962) received the Silver Dagger Award. He was married, with three children, and lived in Lincolnshire. After retiring from journalism he designed silver jewellery.
As well as a series of humorous detective novels set in the imaginary town of Flaxborough, featuring Inspector Purbright, Watson also wrote and later revised a study of detective stories and thrillers called Snobbery with Violence.
His book Hopjoy Was Here (1962) received the Silver Dagger Award. He was married, with three children, and lived in Lincolnshire. After retiring from journalism he designed silver jewellery.
As well as a series of humorous detective novels set in the imaginary town of Flaxborough, featuring Inspector Purbright, Watson also wrote and later revised a study of detective stories and thrillers called Snobbery with Violence.
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June 17, 2019
Bump in the Night by Colin Watson is a 2018 Farrago publication. (First published in 1960)
The Flaxborough Chronicles by Colin Watson is a mystery series, which began in 1958 and ran through the mid-1980s. Farrago has reissued the series in digital format and has given the covers a new and improved look.
I had never heard of this author or series until I discovered them on Netgalley a while back. What a terrific find!
In this second installment, the country town of Chalmsbury is experiencing a spate of explosions, decimating objects like a statues and park fountains. It could be a the handiwork of a prankster, but then the pranks turn deadly.
The characters in this procedural, which might also appeal to cozy mystery fans, are so quirky and the dialogue is often hilarious. The story is so absorbing, with a unique plot, which is packed with some very interesting details, as the underbelly of the quaint country town is exposed. It is obvious the author put a lot of thought into the story. While this is a short book it packs a nice punch and is wildly entertaining.
I am so thrilled Farrago has reissued these books. The series and this author are underrated, in my opinion. I’d love to see the books get a little overdue recognition.
4.5 stars
The Flaxborough Chronicles by Colin Watson is a mystery series, which began in 1958 and ran through the mid-1980s. Farrago has reissued the series in digital format and has given the covers a new and improved look.
I had never heard of this author or series until I discovered them on Netgalley a while back. What a terrific find!
In this second installment, the country town of Chalmsbury is experiencing a spate of explosions, decimating objects like a statues and park fountains. It could be a the handiwork of a prankster, but then the pranks turn deadly.
The characters in this procedural, which might also appeal to cozy mystery fans, are so quirky and the dialogue is often hilarious. The story is so absorbing, with a unique plot, which is packed with some very interesting details, as the underbelly of the quaint country town is exposed. It is obvious the author put a lot of thought into the story. While this is a short book it packs a nice punch and is wildly entertaining.
I am so thrilled Farrago has reissued these books. The series and this author are underrated, in my opinion. I’d love to see the books get a little overdue recognition.
4.5 stars
November 15, 2021
An Explosive Tale! 🧨
Bombs are going off in the village of Chalmsbury. Things are being blown up left and right.
Having memorial statues and a water fountain blown to bits is irksome enough, but when the community bully appears to blow himself up before he gets to blow up anything else causes the appearance of Inspector Purbright.
Colin Watson introduces Purbright pretty late into this story, but he appears just in time.
Sent from Flaxborough to investigate the disappearance of explosives stolen from storage, Inspector Purbright still finds time to figure out who is blowing up the town.
Another mystery is solved.
Bombs are going off in the village of Chalmsbury. Things are being blown up left and right.
Having memorial statues and a water fountain blown to bits is irksome enough, but when the community bully appears to blow himself up before he gets to blow up anything else causes the appearance of Inspector Purbright.
Colin Watson introduces Purbright pretty late into this story, but he appears just in time.
Sent from Flaxborough to investigate the disappearance of explosives stolen from storage, Inspector Purbright still finds time to figure out who is blowing up the town.
Another mystery is solved.
June 18, 2018
Real Rating: 4.75* of five
It feels puling somehow to knock off a quarter star rating this quiet procedural that bears the same copyright date that I do. My weak little bleat of dissatisfaction is that I despise Larch and missed Purbright, who is nowhere to be found in the entire first half of the book.
But it's again an old-fashioned tale of morality and punitive cruelty, more so than the first Flaxborough outing. The central mystery is not, as one expects from Watson, the one he's assigned to solve on the down-low. When he does solve the central mystery, we're entirely justified to feel an impressed irkedness with Author Watson for so deftly connecting expectations and reality via quantum emotional metaphysics.
I'm so glad to be rediscovering these witty, wise forensic excursions into human nature's eternal turdibity. The great oceans of feeling that we're always immersed in do not give themselves readily to superficial knowledge; the urge to view surfaces as representative of entireties is one of humanity's most egregious idiocies. To look but not see is a cliche for a reason. To see but not understand is the same. This is, I think, a principal pleasure to be had from series-mystery reading: The sleuth, our avatar in story space, is always the one who either reaches or catalyzes the solution, and sees or causes Justice to Be Done. Thus is ma'at preserved.
It is small wonder to me that we, as a culture, love these stories so very much. Books, television series, comic books all tell us the same satisfying tale, that there IS Justice and it IS done and even when the suspended particulate matter in our emotional waters is the fecal material that's flowed downhill the originators can be found, blamed, and punished.
It's an addictive fiction. It's an enjoyable denial mechanism. And this one is especially delicious.
It feels puling somehow to knock off a quarter star rating this quiet procedural that bears the same copyright date that I do. My weak little bleat of dissatisfaction is that I despise Larch and missed Purbright, who is nowhere to be found in the entire first half of the book.
But it's again an old-fashioned tale of morality and punitive cruelty, more so than the first Flaxborough outing. The central mystery is not, as one expects from Watson, the one he's assigned to solve on the down-low. When he does solve the central mystery, we're entirely justified to feel an impressed irkedness with Author Watson for so deftly connecting expectations and reality via quantum emotional metaphysics.
I'm so glad to be rediscovering these witty, wise forensic excursions into human nature's eternal turdibity. The great oceans of feeling that we're always immersed in do not give themselves readily to superficial knowledge; the urge to view surfaces as representative of entireties is one of humanity's most egregious idiocies. To look but not see is a cliche for a reason. To see but not understand is the same. This is, I think, a principal pleasure to be had from series-mystery reading: The sleuth, our avatar in story space, is always the one who either reaches or catalyzes the solution, and sees or causes Justice to Be Done. Thus is ma'at preserved.
It is small wonder to me that we, as a culture, love these stories so very much. Books, television series, comic books all tell us the same satisfying tale, that there IS Justice and it IS done and even when the suspended particulate matter in our emotional waters is the fecal material that's flowed downhill the originators can be found, blamed, and punished.
It's an addictive fiction. It's an enjoyable denial mechanism. And this one is especially delicious.
March 1, 2018
This was just delightful. I love classic crime; detectives solving crimes without the tricks of modern day technology and this book gave me everything I wanted. There's a lovely sense of humour running through it.
I was surprised these were actually written in the 60s. Watson doesn't feel as well known as other authors of the time and that's a shame. There's a typical sense of Englishness about the book. It's set a couple of decades after WW2 and hosts a lovely and somewhat unique cast of characters.
It's a quick read. It kept my interest all the way through. There are so many twists and turns and it kept me guessing right until the end. Another writer to add to my ever growing to-read pile. Highly recommended
Free arc from netgalley
I was surprised these were actually written in the 60s. Watson doesn't feel as well known as other authors of the time and that's a shame. There's a typical sense of Englishness about the book. It's set a couple of decades after WW2 and hosts a lovely and somewhat unique cast of characters.
It's a quick read. It kept my interest all the way through. There are so many twists and turns and it kept me guessing right until the end. Another writer to add to my ever growing to-read pile. Highly recommended
Free arc from netgalley
February 28, 2018
Bump in the Night is the second book in the Flaxborough Mystery series being republished by UK publisher Farrago. It was originally published in 1960 and is quite a nice little glimpse into British village life of that era. Colin Watson (1920-1983) had a delightfully fun way of writing, spearing each of his often stuffy, pompous characters with incisive descriptions. The mystery in this police procedural keeps you guessing right up to the end, which I quite appreciated. A fun, quick read with humor and heart.
Many thanks to Farrago and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this delightful old chestnut of a detective story. I hope you bring back all twelve!
Many thanks to Farrago and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this delightful old chestnut of a detective story. I hope you bring back all twelve!
June 2, 2018
Book two finished in record time, I am absolutely loving the Flaxborough series. Fantastically written, wonderfully engineered. Onto book three....
June 10, 2019
This is the second in the Flaxborough mystery series, which was first published in 1960. It is set in the nearby town of Chalmsbury, which suddenly sees a number of explosions – including a park fountain and the head of a statue. The local police are seen as not doing enough to discover the person behind these disturbing events and a deputation are sent to demand action, resulting in Inspector Purbright, from Flaxborough C.I.D. being called in to investigate.
This mystery is full of eccentric characters, old secrets and, of course, eventually, murder. The plot is a little obvious and there was an absence of any interesting female characters. Still, this was an interesting setting and I enjoyed the small town politics and enthusiastic local reporter. Overall, rated 3.5.
This mystery is full of eccentric characters, old secrets and, of course, eventually, murder. The plot is a little obvious and there was an absence of any interesting female characters. Still, this was an interesting setting and I enjoyed the small town politics and enthusiastic local reporter. Overall, rated 3.5.
February 27, 2018
Bump In the Night is the second book of the Flaxborough series (after Coffin, Scarcely Used) and if anything I enjoyed it even more than the first. This time, a series of small nocturnal explosions destroys a drinking fountain, a statue and the like in Chalmsbury, and eventually Inspector Purbright is called in from neighbouring Flaxborough to investigate as matters become more serious.
It's a decent plot which maintains interest (although I'd spotted the culprit well before Purbright did), but the chief pleasures of Colin Watson's books are his wonderfully dry, witty style and his brilliant portraits of the characters which inhabit his small, fictional towns. People like the editor of the local newspaper, his over-eager, cliché-prone cub reporter, the local Councillors and others are quite brilliantly drawn and the reality beneath outward respectability is very neatly skewered. It is also worth saying that the book is about half the length of a typical modern crime novel and is all the better for it, in my view.
A couple of brief passages may give you a flavour. Purbright spends a night at a supposedly superior small-town hotel "where he had been ill-fed and insulted by a staff who behaved like émigré dukes," and later visits a room in a boarding house: "The room was as he had last seen it; tidy, ordinary, and wear the faintly depressing air common to all apartments, whether prison cells or bed-sitters, in which a man must share his dreams with his shoe brushes."
I have only recently discovered Colin Watson, but I am coming to regard him as a treat to be looked forward to. I have no doubt that I shall read the whole Flaxborough series as they are reissued, and I'm looking forward to them enormously. Very warmly recommended.
(My thanks to Farrago for an ARC via NetGalley.)
It's a decent plot which maintains interest (although I'd spotted the culprit well before Purbright did), but the chief pleasures of Colin Watson's books are his wonderfully dry, witty style and his brilliant portraits of the characters which inhabit his small, fictional towns. People like the editor of the local newspaper, his over-eager, cliché-prone cub reporter, the local Councillors and others are quite brilliantly drawn and the reality beneath outward respectability is very neatly skewered. It is also worth saying that the book is about half the length of a typical modern crime novel and is all the better for it, in my view.
A couple of brief passages may give you a flavour. Purbright spends a night at a supposedly superior small-town hotel "where he had been ill-fed and insulted by a staff who behaved like émigré dukes," and later visits a room in a boarding house: "The room was as he had last seen it; tidy, ordinary, and wear the faintly depressing air common to all apartments, whether prison cells or bed-sitters, in which a man must share his dreams with his shoe brushes."
I have only recently discovered Colin Watson, but I am coming to regard him as a treat to be looked forward to. I have no doubt that I shall read the whole Flaxborough series as they are reissued, and I'm looking forward to them enormously. Very warmly recommended.
(My thanks to Farrago for an ARC via NetGalley.)
March 11, 2021
A true wordsmith with a knack for dark humor. If you go around a psych ward and ask each patient: How do you do? then you will get the gist of the characters of the population of Chalmsbury. My only concern was that it was too repetitive at times. Also, it does not seem that it was written in 1960 but rather the1920s.
A little unrealistic but nicely plotted (with an outstanding ending) and like I said before beautifully written.
A little unrealistic but nicely plotted (with an outstanding ending) and like I said before beautifully written.
March 12, 2018
Skulduggery in Middle England...
Chalmsbury is normally a quiet town with at least a veneer of respectability. So it's a bit of a shock when the residents have their sleep disturbed one Tuesday night when somebody blows up the local drinking fountain. A prankster, is the general feeling, but when on the following Tuesday a statue unfortunately loses its head in another blast, people want the police to get to the bottom of it before more damage is done. The problem is the local Inspector is friends with the man the townsfolk suspect is responsible. So suddenly Inspector Purbright from the neighbouring town of Flaxborough finds himself drafted in...
Colin Watson wrote the twelve books that make up the Flaxborough Chronicles over a period stretching from 1958 to 1982, with this second in the series dating from 1960. Like many series, the books improve for the first two or three, hit a peak in the middle of the series, and then tail off a little towards the end, but even the less good ones are still way ahead of most of the competition. This one loses a little for me by having the action moved to Chalmsbury, which means that we don't see much of the regular cast of characters who appear in the ones based in Flaxborough itself. But it has its own cast of deliciously quirky characters to make up for that lack, and has the same sly and wicked wit, poking fun at the respectable middle-classes of Middle England.
The books are peculiarly suited to the '50s and early '60s – a time when class structures were still fairly rigid in Britain, and people were judged as much by their professional role as by their character, but when the first breezes of the winds of change of the later '60s were beginning to be felt. The joy of Watson is that he takes delight in letting the reader peek at the scandals hidden behind the lace curtains of the outwardly respectable. It's quietly subversive, and must have seemed even more so at the time.
In this one, the action takes place mainly among the shop and business owners of the town, and Purbright soon finds that most of them are willing to gossip about their friends and neighbours. There's a good deal to gossip about – everything from drunk driving to murky business dealings to marital infidelity goes on regularly, and everyone knows everyone else's business. The solution seems perfectly obvious from early on, so you can be sure that won't turn out to be the real one in the end. Underneath all the humour and light social commentary, there's an excellent plot, full of motives, alibis and clues, and it's not long before the destruction of property escalates to a death and a murder investigation. These books are a little too late to really count as Golden Age from a strict time point of view, but they have that feel about them, only with added hanky-panky. Often Watson makes an oblique innuendo and leaves it to the reader's mind to fill in the blanks, and I always imagine him winking cheekily as he does so...
I can never think of these books without the word skulduggery coming into my mind – everybody, except Purbright, is always up to something they shouldn't be, but it's mainly mild naughtiness rather than outright badness.
A delight – books I revisit often and enjoy anew every time. They've been quite hard to get hold of for some time, so I'm happy to see that Farrago are issuing them as e-books. If you've never met Inspector Purbright, give yourself a treat – these books are guaranteed to chase the blues away...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Farrago.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Chalmsbury is normally a quiet town with at least a veneer of respectability. So it's a bit of a shock when the residents have their sleep disturbed one Tuesday night when somebody blows up the local drinking fountain. A prankster, is the general feeling, but when on the following Tuesday a statue unfortunately loses its head in another blast, people want the police to get to the bottom of it before more damage is done. The problem is the local Inspector is friends with the man the townsfolk suspect is responsible. So suddenly Inspector Purbright from the neighbouring town of Flaxborough finds himself drafted in...
Colin Watson wrote the twelve books that make up the Flaxborough Chronicles over a period stretching from 1958 to 1982, with this second in the series dating from 1960. Like many series, the books improve for the first two or three, hit a peak in the middle of the series, and then tail off a little towards the end, but even the less good ones are still way ahead of most of the competition. This one loses a little for me by having the action moved to Chalmsbury, which means that we don't see much of the regular cast of characters who appear in the ones based in Flaxborough itself. But it has its own cast of deliciously quirky characters to make up for that lack, and has the same sly and wicked wit, poking fun at the respectable middle-classes of Middle England.
“Mr Hoole was the complainant, sir, but he didn't exactly report it. He just stood under where the sign had been and used bad language. I advised him to be careful and he changed to much longer words that didn't seem to give as much offence to bystanders.”
The books are peculiarly suited to the '50s and early '60s – a time when class structures were still fairly rigid in Britain, and people were judged as much by their professional role as by their character, but when the first breezes of the winds of change of the later '60s were beginning to be felt. The joy of Watson is that he takes delight in letting the reader peek at the scandals hidden behind the lace curtains of the outwardly respectable. It's quietly subversive, and must have seemed even more so at the time.
In this one, the action takes place mainly among the shop and business owners of the town, and Purbright soon finds that most of them are willing to gossip about their friends and neighbours. There's a good deal to gossip about – everything from drunk driving to murky business dealings to marital infidelity goes on regularly, and everyone knows everyone else's business. The solution seems perfectly obvious from early on, so you can be sure that won't turn out to be the real one in the end. Underneath all the humour and light social commentary, there's an excellent plot, full of motives, alibis and clues, and it's not long before the destruction of property escalates to a death and a murder investigation. These books are a little too late to really count as Golden Age from a strict time point of view, but they have that feel about them, only with added hanky-panky. Often Watson makes an oblique innuendo and leaves it to the reader's mind to fill in the blanks, and I always imagine him winking cheekily as he does so...
“A somewhat impetuous man, Mr Biggadyke, by all accounts.”
“Very likely. But that was no excuse for him going round and telling everybody that story about the Colonel and Bessie Egan.”
“Ah, yes. And the spurs.”
I can never think of these books without the word skulduggery coming into my mind – everybody, except Purbright, is always up to something they shouldn't be, but it's mainly mild naughtiness rather than outright badness.
“So you see the person I think the police ought to be looking for is someone here in the town who's been turned into an enemy of society – perhaps through being sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit.”
“That ought to be a lot easier,” Kebble daringly remarked, “than having to pick from all the people in Chalmsbury who haven't been sent to prison for things they did commit.”
A delight – books I revisit often and enjoy anew every time. They've been quite hard to get hold of for some time, so I'm happy to see that Farrago are issuing them as e-books. If you've never met Inspector Purbright, give yourself a treat – these books are guaranteed to chase the blues away...
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Farrago.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
September 19, 2018
Another enjoyable mystery by Colin Watson starring Inspector Purbright. I like how Watson portrays the different kinds of people, showing us both who they appear to be and who they really are. And Purbright is the best--I can be confident he will never just settle for the easy answer, but will always find the truth.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a free e-ARC of this book.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a free e-ARC of this book.
February 16, 2021
A sheer delight.
Colin Watson writes wonderful witty English with a pen " dipped in acid" as one literary critic puts it.
Colin Watson writes wonderful witty English with a pen " dipped in acid" as one literary critic puts it.
June 22, 2019
I liked the quirky characters and humor and would read more by this author. I was distracted by some other things and didn’t rush back to the book, but that may have been more “wrong book, wrong time”. The writing is very funny, farcical and clever, and the mystery well done and made sense, once it was all out in the open - I just had begun to lose interest. Again, that’s me, not the author- this is his second mystery I’ve read, I’d read another for the humor.
April 30, 2018
The town of Chalmsbury experiences a series of explosions that blow up monuments and landmarks, and the small town's police force is making no progress. Flaxborough loans DI Purbright to conduct an investigation--one perhaps less hampered by being personally connected, for good or ill, to every possible suspect.
Police chief Hector Larch is married to Hilda, daughter of Councilman Pointer. Local haulage magnate Stan Biggadyke is having an affair with Hilda, and last year, had a car accident that killed a young woman. Biggadyke's long history of malicious pranks includes having tormented Barrington Hoole, local optometrist, since their school days.
And Larch, sadly, thinks aggressive bullying is the way to question suspects and make them spill what they know.
What most of the town doesn't know is that Larch attends weekly civil defense training in Flaxborough, where he teaches explosives handling. A supply of explosives has gone missing, more than enough to account for the explosions so far.
Purbright takes lodging in Chalmsbury, and sets about piecing his way through gossip, innuendo, colorful local stories, adultery, and hidden secrets, to find the culprit.
This is a police procedural series from the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has a slower, gentler pace, with an arch sense of humor lurking in the corners. (What my Mom called a British sense of humor. What my Dad, and I, and the Irish/French side of the family called, "how we make jokes and cope with stress.) It's enjoyable, pleasant reading, when you want to engage your mind rather than looking for a more emotional read.
Recommended.
I received a free electronic galley from the publisher via NetGalley.
Police chief Hector Larch is married to Hilda, daughter of Councilman Pointer. Local haulage magnate Stan Biggadyke is having an affair with Hilda, and last year, had a car accident that killed a young woman. Biggadyke's long history of malicious pranks includes having tormented Barrington Hoole, local optometrist, since their school days.
And Larch, sadly, thinks aggressive bullying is the way to question suspects and make them spill what they know.
What most of the town doesn't know is that Larch attends weekly civil defense training in Flaxborough, where he teaches explosives handling. A supply of explosives has gone missing, more than enough to account for the explosions so far.
Purbright takes lodging in Chalmsbury, and sets about piecing his way through gossip, innuendo, colorful local stories, adultery, and hidden secrets, to find the culprit.
This is a police procedural series from the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has a slower, gentler pace, with an arch sense of humor lurking in the corners. (What my Mom called a British sense of humor. What my Dad, and I, and the Irish/French side of the family called, "how we make jokes and cope with stress.) It's enjoyable, pleasant reading, when you want to engage your mind rather than looking for a more emotional read.
Recommended.
I received a free electronic galley from the publisher via NetGalley.
March 26, 2018
A series of small Tuesday night explosions are wreaking minor havoc in neighboring Chalmsbury: a fountain, a statue and a large glass “eye” in the town have been the targets. Pulbright has been brought in to solve the case, and there are no end to the potential culprits or charm in this story. Funnily enough, the chief of police in Chalmsbury is always away on a Tuesday - ostensibly at the civil defense center. But when the next explosion brings a death, and explosives are found hidden In the same place that the chief is….the questions abound.
From the local prankster to various eccentrics in the town, Pulbright is steadily interviewing, gathering facts and impressions, and working his way to a conclusion. Characters drawn with a sly, often surprising sense of the absurd, humor and a sharp eye for character abound – from overeager reporters to overly snobby hotel staff: no character is untouched by the keen wit and sharply clever prose. That is, in fact, the joy in these stories for the flow and language add to the reader’s visualization and enjoyment, and in this one at least, the culprit was easy to suss out. Bringing the sensibilities of a Christie novel, the story is about uncovering a motive and reason, rather than focusing on the more salacious elements of gore, gunshots and fast-paced chases. If you enjoy a British murder mystery, particularly those that harken back to the ‘good old days’, this is a series to put on your shelf.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Review first appeared at I am, Indeed
From the local prankster to various eccentrics in the town, Pulbright is steadily interviewing, gathering facts and impressions, and working his way to a conclusion. Characters drawn with a sly, often surprising sense of the absurd, humor and a sharp eye for character abound – from overeager reporters to overly snobby hotel staff: no character is untouched by the keen wit and sharply clever prose. That is, in fact, the joy in these stories for the flow and language add to the reader’s visualization and enjoyment, and in this one at least, the culprit was easy to suss out. Bringing the sensibilities of a Christie novel, the story is about uncovering a motive and reason, rather than focusing on the more salacious elements of gore, gunshots and fast-paced chases. If you enjoy a British murder mystery, particularly those that harken back to the ‘good old days’, this is a series to put on your shelf.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Review first appeared at I am, Indeed
August 6, 2020
The second book in one of my all time favourite series, the Flaxborough Chronicles, BUMP IN THE NIGHT, sees DI Purbright on temporary secondment to Chalmsbury after a series of monuments explode. Things get a lot more serious though when local "identity" Stan Biggadyke is blown up on the nights he normally spends with Police Chief Hector Larch's wife - the same Inspector Larch who volunteers at the local civil defence centre that is missing boxes of explosives.
By this second book Watson had really hit his straps with eccentric characters, elaborate and stagey plots, a lot of mayhem and dollops of gossip, small town characteristics and general craziness.
It's a joy to go back to this series, now available in ebook format which is just as well - my precious, much loved paperbacks are starting to show signs of fragility and have had to be tucked away in protective coverings. Those books are staying with me even if I manage to work up the necessary bravery to undertake the increasingly desperately required "grand cull".
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
By this second book Watson had really hit his straps with eccentric characters, elaborate and stagey plots, a lot of mayhem and dollops of gossip, small town characteristics and general craziness.
It's a joy to go back to this series, now available in ebook format which is just as well - my precious, much loved paperbacks are starting to show signs of fragility and have had to be tucked away in protective coverings. Those books are staying with me even if I manage to work up the necessary bravery to undertake the increasingly desperately required "grand cull".
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
July 17, 2018
Columbo In England?
Why, I asked myself, does Inspector Purbright seem so very familiar? And it came to me finally that the unfailingly polite but politely insistent Inspector Columbo, as immortalized by Peter Falk, was very closely based on this character! The gentle humor and clever plots were also borrowed in style, if not in fact, from this same source. Of course, these Tales are not set in Southern California but rather in small village England with his own set of rules and mannerisms as modified by the post World War II era in which they are set. And author Colin Watson had a very good eye and ear for satire with a good feel for the proper turn of phrase. All in all, I found myself enchanted with this second in a series which absolutely stands on its own.
Why, I asked myself, does Inspector Purbright seem so very familiar? And it came to me finally that the unfailingly polite but politely insistent Inspector Columbo, as immortalized by Peter Falk, was very closely based on this character! The gentle humor and clever plots were also borrowed in style, if not in fact, from this same source. Of course, these Tales are not set in Southern California but rather in small village England with his own set of rules and mannerisms as modified by the post World War II era in which they are set. And author Colin Watson had a very good eye and ear for satire with a good feel for the proper turn of phrase. All in all, I found myself enchanted with this second in a series which absolutely stands on its own.
February 20, 2019
A thoroughly pleasurable book that knows exactly what it is and never pretends to be anything else. It’s amusing, witty, well-written, even a little touching in the end. Perfect relax-my-brain-while-buried-in-grading kind of reading.
March 4, 2023
CAWPILE 5.43
Not as enjoyable as the first in the series but came to a compelling and thrilling end.
I wish Purbright had been in it for more of the story.
Will read the next in the series as I own it.
Not as enjoyable as the first in the series but came to a compelling and thrilling end.
I wish Purbright had been in it for more of the story.
Will read the next in the series as I own it.
August 23, 2018
Procedural crime novels from a different era; I'm so pleased that I fell across this character driven series!
March 9, 2018
What a marvelous idea it was to re-release this series. Those of us who did not read it the first time around can now experience the joy of visiting Flaxborough, and I'm ready to visit for a long time.
Bump in the Night is the second in the Flaxborough Mystery series by Colin Watson. The time is around 1957 or 1958. The place is the English village of Flaxborough and the surrounding countryside. We are back with Inpector Purbright, who cleared up that brothel and butchery business last year, but first we have to spend some time in the nearby town of Chalmsbury with the very unpleasant Chief Inspector Hector Larch and a cast of very quirky characters. A lot of quirky characters. Most of whom are not very likeable. For example, one prominent fellow is described as the kind of guy who would "Give her a nice smile, and then slowly pull her head off like a prawn's, and wouldn't fall out with you until he's got a grave dug ready." Hmmm.
We start right off with Councilor Oswald Pointer, Chalmsbury wholesale wine merchant, calling the police, with more than a little attitude, to report the loud noise he's just heard. Desk Sergeant Worple retaliates by being as unhelpful as he can be - you can just hear it in your head - you've either been there or done that. And Pointer, being the (un)likeable chap that he is, gets his petty little revenge after hanging up on the police by slamming his wife's bedroom door to scare her, and then pretending to be asleep when she comes to tell him she heard something.
Things are blowing-up in Chalmsbury on Tuesday evenings - a drinking fountain, a sculpture, an optician's hanging eye, and a bloody head blown off. And there is a real mystery here, not just a bunch of goofy people blowing up silly objects. Things get serious and sinister and dangerous and Inspector Larch isn't having much luck solving the mystery. So Inspector Purbright from Flaxborough is brought in to figure out who in Chalmsbury is a murderer.
But solid as the plot is and as engaging the mystery, it's the words, the words, the words that hook you and keep you hooked. Colin Watson seemed to be a firm believer in why use just one word when several will do. The way he wrote, there is no such thing as too many words. The town is populated with run-of-the-mill characters - wine merchant, haulage broker, optician, jeweler, theatre manager, newpaper editor and reporter, park keeper, as well as some not so run-of the mill: the rhymer, the chronic confessor, the genially promiscuous woman, the fit thrower, and the kleptomaniacal housekeeper. The vivid descriptions of their quirks and slightly mad, slightly dangerous interactions and practical jokes produced images that made me smile and chuckle and laugh out loud.
Just picture this: "Dignitaries: One end's so like t'other it's a wonder that when they take their hats off they're not run in for indecent exposure." "His hands clasped behind him looked like a pair of courting Flamborough crabs." "Alderman Arnold Berry was no longer regarding the wide world with that straining-at-stool expression that denotes, in the convention of public sculpture, a man of high but unpopular principles." "His reasoning was conditioned by regular absorption of the Daily Sun." "Marriage with the light on, he decided, would be rather awful." I could go on and on, but you want to read these books for yourself and enjoy these deft turns of phrase for yourself.
Bump in the Night was even more satisfying, if possible, than Coffin Scarcely Used, the first book in the series, because this time I had learned the drill: look for clues, pay close attention to the people, and even closer attention to the words.
I received a copy of Bump in the Night from NetGally and Farrago Books. I loved it, highly recommend it, and am starting Hopjoy was Here as soon as I submit this review.
Bump in the Night is the second in the Flaxborough Mystery series by Colin Watson. The time is around 1957 or 1958. The place is the English village of Flaxborough and the surrounding countryside. We are back with Inpector Purbright, who cleared up that brothel and butchery business last year, but first we have to spend some time in the nearby town of Chalmsbury with the very unpleasant Chief Inspector Hector Larch and a cast of very quirky characters. A lot of quirky characters. Most of whom are not very likeable. For example, one prominent fellow is described as the kind of guy who would "Give her a nice smile, and then slowly pull her head off like a prawn's, and wouldn't fall out with you until he's got a grave dug ready." Hmmm.
We start right off with Councilor Oswald Pointer, Chalmsbury wholesale wine merchant, calling the police, with more than a little attitude, to report the loud noise he's just heard. Desk Sergeant Worple retaliates by being as unhelpful as he can be - you can just hear it in your head - you've either been there or done that. And Pointer, being the (un)likeable chap that he is, gets his petty little revenge after hanging up on the police by slamming his wife's bedroom door to scare her, and then pretending to be asleep when she comes to tell him she heard something.
Things are blowing-up in Chalmsbury on Tuesday evenings - a drinking fountain, a sculpture, an optician's hanging eye, and a bloody head blown off. And there is a real mystery here, not just a bunch of goofy people blowing up silly objects. Things get serious and sinister and dangerous and Inspector Larch isn't having much luck solving the mystery. So Inspector Purbright from Flaxborough is brought in to figure out who in Chalmsbury is a murderer.
But solid as the plot is and as engaging the mystery, it's the words, the words, the words that hook you and keep you hooked. Colin Watson seemed to be a firm believer in why use just one word when several will do. The way he wrote, there is no such thing as too many words. The town is populated with run-of-the-mill characters - wine merchant, haulage broker, optician, jeweler, theatre manager, newpaper editor and reporter, park keeper, as well as some not so run-of the mill: the rhymer, the chronic confessor, the genially promiscuous woman, the fit thrower, and the kleptomaniacal housekeeper. The vivid descriptions of their quirks and slightly mad, slightly dangerous interactions and practical jokes produced images that made me smile and chuckle and laugh out loud.
Just picture this: "Dignitaries: One end's so like t'other it's a wonder that when they take their hats off they're not run in for indecent exposure." "His hands clasped behind him looked like a pair of courting Flamborough crabs." "Alderman Arnold Berry was no longer regarding the wide world with that straining-at-stool expression that denotes, in the convention of public sculpture, a man of high but unpopular principles." "His reasoning was conditioned by regular absorption of the Daily Sun." "Marriage with the light on, he decided, would be rather awful." I could go on and on, but you want to read these books for yourself and enjoy these deft turns of phrase for yourself.
Bump in the Night was even more satisfying, if possible, than Coffin Scarcely Used, the first book in the series, because this time I had learned the drill: look for clues, pay close attention to the people, and even closer attention to the words.
I received a copy of Bump in the Night from NetGally and Farrago Books. I loved it, highly recommend it, and am starting Hopjoy was Here as soon as I submit this review.
March 8, 2018
Things are generally peaceful in the country town of Chelmsford until one Tuesday night when a municipal drinking fountain is blown up. On succeeding Tuesday nights, a statue of a local worthy loses its head in an explosion, and a local oculist loses his treasured premises sign which features a giant glass eye. Oddly enough the chief of police in Chelmsford is always away on Tuesday nights at the civil defense center. The town has its prime suspect, prankster and almost universally disliked Stan Biggadyke, a longtime friend of the police chief. When a life is lost in the next explosion and explosives are discovered missing at the civil defense center, the Chief Constable calls in DI Purbright of Flaxborough.
Filled with sly humor and well-drawn portraits of the various eccentric inhabitants of Chelmsford, Bump in the Night is a delightful classic mystery. Knowing that Colin Watson was a career journalist makes the character of the eager cub reporter, Len Leaper, even more enjoyable. Len's idea of being a midnight sleuth makes for some hilarious scenes.
The Chelmsford Chronicles are perfect, quick reads for fans of classic mysteries. Thanks to Farrago Books, both for bringing them back and for providing me with an advance copy; also thanks to NetGalley. The opinions are my own
Filled with sly humor and well-drawn portraits of the various eccentric inhabitants of Chelmsford, Bump in the Night is a delightful classic mystery. Knowing that Colin Watson was a career journalist makes the character of the eager cub reporter, Len Leaper, even more enjoyable. Len's idea of being a midnight sleuth makes for some hilarious scenes.
The Chelmsford Chronicles are perfect, quick reads for fans of classic mysteries. Thanks to Farrago Books, both for bringing them back and for providing me with an advance copy; also thanks to NetGalley. The opinions are my own
February 6, 2018
Thank you to NetGalley and Farrago for the advance digital review copy.
Another neatly written and enjoyable instalment in the Flaxborough Chronicles and another triumph for the investigative powers of Inspector Purbright who has been dispatched to Chalmsbury to look into a series of mysterious “blowings-up”.
When the fourth explosion results in a death, has the mystery been solved…or not? Purbright’s gentle persistence, and refusal to accept the obvious, leads to the solution and a rather melancholy conclusion to the case. This was a little more difficult to work out than the murder in Book 1..
As ever, Watson’s knowledge of the venalities of small town politics is ably utilised, and his sardonic wit is well to the fore. Councillors, policemen, shopkeepers, journalists and landladies are among those whose foibles are pinpointed. These portrayals stop, cleverly, just short of caricature.
Very readable and highly entertaining. A must for fans of English mysteries with a humorous twist.
Another neatly written and enjoyable instalment in the Flaxborough Chronicles and another triumph for the investigative powers of Inspector Purbright who has been dispatched to Chalmsbury to look into a series of mysterious “blowings-up”.
When the fourth explosion results in a death, has the mystery been solved…or not? Purbright’s gentle persistence, and refusal to accept the obvious, leads to the solution and a rather melancholy conclusion to the case. This was a little more difficult to work out than the murder in Book 1..
As ever, Watson’s knowledge of the venalities of small town politics is ably utilised, and his sardonic wit is well to the fore. Councillors, policemen, shopkeepers, journalists and landladies are among those whose foibles are pinpointed. These portrayals stop, cleverly, just short of caricature.
Very readable and highly entertaining. A must for fans of English mysteries with a humorous twist.
May 13, 2021
Another mildly enjoyable read in similar vein to Coffin, Scarcely Used (the first book in the Flaxborough series), although there is something of a dichotomy in the depiction of Chalmsbury: a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business and "life drags on from year to year" but where the details of a fatal accident that took place less than a year before have already been forgotten. The plot is undemanding but I like the author's wryly humorous tone.
February 24, 2018
Replete with red herrings, BUMP IN THE NIGHT is the second book in the Flaxborough Mystery series. Originally published in 1959, it is another kinder, gentler, more polite police procedural where folks call each other Mister so-and-so or, in the case of policemen, by their rank as in Mr. Purbright or Inspector.
Once again, I am compelled to note that reading this series is much like watching BBC offerings like "Midsomer Murders" or "Father Brown." I have often commented that Midsomer is a really dangerous place to live. I'm beginning to think of Flaxborough in the same way.
BUMP IN THE NIGHT takes place in the town of Chalmsbury, one of Flaxboroughs many towns and villages, where a series of explosions have occurred flummoxing the local constabulary. Enter Inspector Purbright, from CID.
The locals of Chalmsbury are a tight knit lot. Everybody knows everything about everybody. There seems little ability to keep oneself to oneself. Watson paints a picture that comes alive in the mind's eye.
Although reference is made to the first book in the series, COFFIN, SCARCELY USED, there is no absolute reason to read it first. However, if you start at the beginning, you will have had the pleasure of meeting Inspector Purbright, and you will be familiar with his methods. I have always found reading a series most enjoyable when I read from end to end. It's like meeting a new friend and getting to know them over time.
The next stop on my journey of discovery is HOPJOY WAS HERE.
Once again, I am compelled to note that reading this series is much like watching BBC offerings like "Midsomer Murders" or "Father Brown." I have often commented that Midsomer is a really dangerous place to live. I'm beginning to think of Flaxborough in the same way.
BUMP IN THE NIGHT takes place in the town of Chalmsbury, one of Flaxboroughs many towns and villages, where a series of explosions have occurred flummoxing the local constabulary. Enter Inspector Purbright, from CID.
The locals of Chalmsbury are a tight knit lot. Everybody knows everything about everybody. There seems little ability to keep oneself to oneself. Watson paints a picture that comes alive in the mind's eye.
Although reference is made to the first book in the series, COFFIN, SCARCELY USED, there is no absolute reason to read it first. However, if you start at the beginning, you will have had the pleasure of meeting Inspector Purbright, and you will be familiar with his methods. I have always found reading a series most enjoyable when I read from end to end. It's like meeting a new friend and getting to know them over time.
The next stop on my journey of discovery is HOPJOY WAS HERE.
June 4, 2018
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Bump in the Night is the second Flaxborough mystery by author Colin Watson. Originally published in 1960, this is a reformatting and re-release by Farrago books.
The Flaxborough mysteries are wryly humorous with some wickedly funny subtle bits. This book especially has aged very well and reads like a much more modern book but still with the English country village atmosphere.
Inspector Purbright is likable, if a bit plodding, but he gets there in the end. This entry in the series has him investigating a series of explosions in a neighboring village. There's the usual complement of funny village characters and goings-on and someone's hiding murder. It's up to Purbright to sort out the twisted and murky motives.
I loved the gentle pacing and really wickedly funny dialogue. These are really top notch mysteries and this one is well worth the read.
Published 8th March, 2018 by Farrago books. 190 pages, available in ebook and paperback formats.
Four stars
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Bump in the Night is the second Flaxborough mystery by author Colin Watson. Originally published in 1960, this is a reformatting and re-release by Farrago books.
The Flaxborough mysteries are wryly humorous with some wickedly funny subtle bits. This book especially has aged very well and reads like a much more modern book but still with the English country village atmosphere.
Inspector Purbright is likable, if a bit plodding, but he gets there in the end. This entry in the series has him investigating a series of explosions in a neighboring village. There's the usual complement of funny village characters and goings-on and someone's hiding murder. It's up to Purbright to sort out the twisted and murky motives.
I loved the gentle pacing and really wickedly funny dialogue. These are really top notch mysteries and this one is well worth the read.
Published 8th March, 2018 by Farrago books. 190 pages, available in ebook and paperback formats.
Four stars
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
August 23, 2018
"High explosive...is the very apotheosis of un-Englishness," or so declares Inspector Purbright in Bump in the Night, Colin Watson's second volume in the Flaxborough Mystery serices.
Watson, who wrote his novels in the 1960s, focused on the traditional British mystery, with twelve of them set in the fictional city of Flaxborough. In this novel, Purbright is loaned to a nearby small town constabulary to solve a string of bombings--three in all--that have proven most unsettling to the town worthies (mostly, one imagines, because of their very un-Englishness). While Purbright is ensconced in the local boarding house, a fourth bombing occurs--this one with a fatality.
The portraits of the small town characters in this book sparkle with gentle satire. A lot of people are related--even more than one could imagine, by the time one reaches the end of the book. There are no likable characters to speak of besides Purbright, who goes about his job with gusto and a not a few acid observations. I was thoroughly entertained.
This series of novels has been released through Farrago Publishing. They are fun, light reads full of "preposterous situations and poker-faced wit". "They are 20th century police procedurals of a gentler pace than is fashionable today," say the publishers. I say BRAVO. And pip pip!
I received my review copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Netgalley.
Watson, who wrote his novels in the 1960s, focused on the traditional British mystery, with twelve of them set in the fictional city of Flaxborough. In this novel, Purbright is loaned to a nearby small town constabulary to solve a string of bombings--three in all--that have proven most unsettling to the town worthies (mostly, one imagines, because of their very un-Englishness). While Purbright is ensconced in the local boarding house, a fourth bombing occurs--this one with a fatality.
The portraits of the small town characters in this book sparkle with gentle satire. A lot of people are related--even more than one could imagine, by the time one reaches the end of the book. There are no likable characters to speak of besides Purbright, who goes about his job with gusto and a not a few acid observations. I was thoroughly entertained.
This series of novels has been released through Farrago Publishing. They are fun, light reads full of "preposterous situations and poker-faced wit". "They are 20th century police procedurals of a gentler pace than is fashionable today," say the publishers. I say BRAVO. And pip pip!
I received my review copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Netgalley.
March 16, 2023
It was a relief when Inspector Purbright finally showed up, which was almost exactly the halfway point of the book. The villagers were annoying me.
There were many characters, and most of them I could not keep straight. Once the killer was revealed, I did not remember having seen that character before, other than a passing mention of one of that person’s possessions, which turned out to be significant. As usual, I think it would have been easier to keep track of everyone in a print version, where you could either flip back and double check, or in the case of an e-book, search for a character’s name to discover where they were mentioned before.
The writing kept me reading. It’s difficult to describe, but there’s a gentle wryness to the authorial voice that I find irresistible. And once Purbright appeared, there was also his unrelenting politesse in the face of whatever rudeness he encounters from suspects, colleagues, or superior officers.
Didn’t like this one nearly as much as Coffin, Scarcely Used. But the version I listened to included the first few pages of the third book in the series, and Purbright is there, so I’ll probably go on and read Hopjoy was Here. If I want to go any further than that in the series, I’ll have no choice but to resort to print, as there don’t appear to be any audio versions.
July 13, 2021
The quiet country town of Chalmsbury has become rather noisy on Tuesday nights thanks to someone with a flair for explosions. First, it’s a water fountain in the park. Then it’s a bronze statue of a town hero. Next, a giant glass eye outside the optician’s office. But when a fourth explosion kills a local man, Inspector Purbright is called over from nearby Flaxborough to help with the investigation. Can the police find the culprit before he or she strikes again?
Once again, a well-written, witty mystery. However, as with the first book, it was slow getting into the story, but it eventually picked up speed and got more interesting. Also, like the first one, there were A LOT of characters introduced, and it was kind hard to remember who was who for awhile. I was hoping not to deal with that this time, but this book takes place in a different town, so we got a whole new cast of characters. Unfortunately, I didn’t find this group quite as charming as the residents of Flaxborough. And then our hero, Inspector Purbright, doesn’t appear until well into the novel. Overall, I did not enjoy it as much as the first. That being said, I still enjoy the writing style and the overall series and will still give it another try. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.
Once again, a well-written, witty mystery. However, as with the first book, it was slow getting into the story, but it eventually picked up speed and got more interesting. Also, like the first one, there were A LOT of characters introduced, and it was kind hard to remember who was who for awhile. I was hoping not to deal with that this time, but this book takes place in a different town, so we got a whole new cast of characters. Unfortunately, I didn’t find this group quite as charming as the residents of Flaxborough. And then our hero, Inspector Purbright, doesn’t appear until well into the novel. Overall, I did not enjoy it as much as the first. That being said, I still enjoy the writing style and the overall series and will still give it another try. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.
March 9, 2018
Time for another visit to Flaxborough County! This is book 2 in the series and this time around we have a serial bomber in the village of Chalmesbury. After 3 bomb attacks the local council requests the help of Inspector Purbright in tracking down the perpetrator. But just as he’s getting started a 4th bomb results in a murder. Turns out not many people liked the victim and the list of suspects includes just about everybody. Purbright must use all his cunning to sort out the facts from the rumors if he’s going to get his man.
I am still delighted with Inspector Purbright. The author doesn’t offer anything in the way of background, at least not yet, but I just can’t help but be charmed. I especially enjoy reading his interrogation scenes, almost none of which take place in a police station. He’s very clever and casual with his question and always pull more out of his suspect than you would expect. The village of Chalmesbury is a hotbed of intrigue as it turns out and I got completely sucked in by the red herrings in this one. The ending was a complete surprise. I’m so glad this series is being re-released because it’s just such a pleasure to read.
I am still delighted with Inspector Purbright. The author doesn’t offer anything in the way of background, at least not yet, but I just can’t help but be charmed. I especially enjoy reading his interrogation scenes, almost none of which take place in a police station. He’s very clever and casual with his question and always pull more out of his suspect than you would expect. The village of Chalmesbury is a hotbed of intrigue as it turns out and I got completely sucked in by the red herrings in this one. The ending was a complete surprise. I’m so glad this series is being re-released because it’s just such a pleasure to read.
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