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Chief Inspector Littlejohn #19
Death in Dark Glasses
A perfectly plotted crime is foiled by a runaway bank clerk as Inspector Littlejohn navigates impersonation, forgery, embezzlement… and a murder.
It was meant to be a fool-proof scheme. The victim was a recluse, cut off from the world after the death of his wife. Nobody would think it strange when they didn’t see him. Nobody would make enquiries.
Yet even the most meticulous of criminals can be caught out, especially if they don’t leave room for human error.
Littlejohn and Cromwell find themselves with more than one mystery to unravel – but will they be able to find the elusive killer?
Reviews
‘Pure British detective story’ – The New York Times
It was meant to be a fool-proof scheme. The victim was a recluse, cut off from the world after the death of his wife. Nobody would think it strange when they didn’t see him. Nobody would make enquiries.
Yet even the most meticulous of criminals can be caught out, especially if they don’t leave room for human error.
Littlejohn and Cromwell find themselves with more than one mystery to unravel – but will they be able to find the elusive killer?
Reviews
‘Pure British detective story’ – The New York Times
282 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1952
136 people are currently reading
109 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 43 reviews
December 7, 2019
Author George Bellairs set a number of his novels in the Isle of Man, but Death in Dark Glasses was the first. It’s where we first meet the saintly Caesar Kinrade, the octogenarian archdeacon in the Isle of Man. But the tale doesn’t begin with Kinrade.
Widower Finloe Oates vanishes, and the corpse of Jack Fishlock, a meter-man, is found in Oates’s bungalow. What happened? I won’t ruin this suspenseful novel by telling you any more than that Fishlock’s just the first of quite a few murder victims in this, the 19th book featuring the intrepid, persistent Detective Inspector Thomas Littlejohn. A great novel and a great series.
As an added benefit, Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read this book for free.
Widower Finloe Oates vanishes, and the corpse of Jack Fishlock, a meter-man, is found in Oates’s bungalow. What happened? I won’t ruin this suspenseful novel by telling you any more than that Fishlock’s just the first of quite a few murder victims in this, the 19th book featuring the intrepid, persistent Detective Inspector Thomas Littlejohn. A great novel and a great series.
As an added benefit, Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read this book for free.
July 30, 2017
Can't recommend this one despite my fondness for Inspector Littlejohn and Sargeant Cromwell working a case together. This was a rusty bucket of complexity in unlikely country settings with rustic characters in the extreme. Dead bodies in attics, lakes, mines...forged checks and letters here, there, everywhere with numerous perpetrators unknowingly playing into the wishes of one who took it all and fooled most. Amusing but not sensible.
Of course the character descriptions were comical as is often the case in these books, e.g.: "Mr. Gamaliel's eyes were never still. Looking round the shop, unpleasantly watching the girl at the medical section, staring straight at Cromwell trying to fathom his thoughts. The sergeant got the queer feeling that the eyes might be made of glass. They took everything in but he turned his head instead of rolling them in their sockets, almost like a ventriloquists's dummy."
Of course the character descriptions were comical as is often the case in these books, e.g.: "Mr. Gamaliel's eyes were never still. Looking round the shop, unpleasantly watching the girl at the medical section, staring straight at Cromwell trying to fathom his thoughts. The sergeant got the queer feeling that the eyes might be made of glass. They took everything in but he turned his head instead of rolling them in their sockets, almost like a ventriloquists's dummy."
January 2, 2022
Littlejohn is up against it this time in a case that involves murder, fraud and blackmail and a perpetrator who leads him on a merry dancer from Netherby to London to the Isle of Man, round banks and insurance companies, shops, hospitals and boarding houses. The poor man was exhausted.
This is Littlejohn’s first encounter with the reverend Kinrade who becomes a dear friend and crops up in many other stories.
As you can see there is a lot going on in this book, so pay attention.
Full of the usual ‘grotesques’ that Bellairs populates his villages with this is an entertaining story even if not my most favourite.
This is Littlejohn’s first encounter with the reverend Kinrade who becomes a dear friend and crops up in many other stories.
As you can see there is a lot going on in this book, so pay attention.
Full of the usual ‘grotesques’ that Bellairs populates his villages with this is an entertaining story even if not my most favourite.
October 19, 2022
Just re-read after many years.
Beautifully written as always by Bellairs with his wonderful witty descriptions of the characters. This one charts the start of Littlejohn's love affair with The Isle of Man and his on going friendship with The Reverend Kinrade.
I would have rated it higher but for the fact that that it was so obvious who the murderer was. Nevertheless a very enjoyable read and the verbal fencing between Littlejohn and the killer was excellent.
Beautifully written as always by Bellairs with his wonderful witty descriptions of the characters. This one charts the start of Littlejohn's love affair with The Isle of Man and his on going friendship with The Reverend Kinrade.
I would have rated it higher but for the fact that that it was so obvious who the murderer was. Nevertheless a very enjoyable read and the verbal fencing between Littlejohn and the killer was excellent.
November 15, 2018
Showdown!
First off, the witty description of Bellairs' characters is reason enough to read this series. In this story there was an interesting catalyst whch starts a chain of events leading to multiple murders by a cool and evil person. The dialogue between Littlejohn and the murderer is like watching a well-matched fencing duel. Simply brilliant!
First off, the witty description of Bellairs' characters is reason enough to read this series. In this story there was an interesting catalyst whch starts a chain of events leading to multiple murders by a cool and evil person. The dialogue between Littlejohn and the murderer is like watching a well-matched fencing duel. Simply brilliant!
April 25, 2020
An interesting story that kept me reading and following the clues. There were many twists and turns. I really enjoy these British Library Crime Classics. Bellairs is one of the best writers of this series.
May 3, 2017
More excellent descriptive writing from Bellairs in this 1952, 19th outing for Inspector Littlejohn.
Good potshots at bankers, schoolmasters, modern art, private detectives and lawyers on the way.These books are such fun and easy to read.There seem to be a lot of complications in this one but the solution is fairly simple-getting sufficient proof for prosecution is another matter.
Good potshots at bankers, schoolmasters, modern art, private detectives and lawyers on the way.These books are such fun and easy to read.There seem to be a lot of complications in this one but the solution is fairly simple-getting sufficient proof for prosecution is another matter.
May 31, 2025
As bloody as the St Valentine's Day Massacre, but without the tommyguns.
It's been a while since I've read a book in the Chief Inspector Littlejohn series and this one is just as good as I remember them. They are "cozy" mysteries in the sense that the action takes place in small villages or rural areas on the Isle of Man, not on the mean streets of an urban jungle.
There's plenty of bloodshed but in England in 1952, guns are a rarity. The first victim in this book dies in an accident. That sets off a chain reaction that leads to six more deaths. They die of natural causes during violent episodes, by poisoning, and one dies when a car is used as a murder weapon. But most die by the time-honored "blunt weapon." Dead is dead.
I love Chief Inspector Littlejohn and his sidekick Sargeant Cromwell of Scotland Yard. Based in London, they spend most of their time investigating crimes in small towns and villages in southern England. They are the ultimate professionals - calm, reasonable, clear-headed, and modest. They respect each other and each sticks to his own specialty. They're a great team and most people who encounter them become fans. Except the guilty, of course.
Crime and punishment are more random than we like to think. A bank clerk absconds with a small amount of money. "George Bellairs" was a bank manager himself, so he knew all about crimes committed by bank employees. The investigation uncovers an unrelated crime. Someone has emptied out an account by forging the owner's name. Now the owner has disappeared, along with his look-alike brother and the 10,000 pounds that the owner had accummulated. That's the equivalent of 370,000 pounds today, so it's a fortune worth killing for.
Eventually both brothers are found. The Oates brothers really need to stay away from water. And what happened to the body of the dog who died recently and was buried in the garden? That leads to the discovery of another murder that might never have been identified as murder had the bank's missing money not set off this investigation.
It's a frustrating case for Littlejohn and Cromwell because the suspects keep turning up dead. A copper naturally wants someone to arrest, but they won't get one in this book.
There are other, less serious crimes, like art forgery and blackmail. Again, most would never be uncovered if those dead bodies didn't keep turning up. Two of the people are innocent. One was in the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something he shouldn't have seen. One stood in the way of a middle-aged man infatuated with a pretty young barmaid. The rest are petty criminals who got more than they bargained for.
The identity of the killer came as a surprise to me, but the clues are all there. Never underestimate the police. Nine times out of ten, they're holding the high cards.
This is a fine series, made available to us through the miracle of e-publishing. I'm lucky to have lived long enough to reap the advantages. Bellairs wrote over fifty Inspector Littlejohn books and forty of them are available on Kindle. It speaks to Bellairs' talent that several of his mysteries are included in the BLCC series. I've read fifteen of the Inspector Littlejohn mysteries so I have a lot of good reading to look forward to. If you like old mysteries and haven't discovered this series, you should check it out.
It's been a while since I've read a book in the Chief Inspector Littlejohn series and this one is just as good as I remember them. They are "cozy" mysteries in the sense that the action takes place in small villages or rural areas on the Isle of Man, not on the mean streets of an urban jungle.
There's plenty of bloodshed but in England in 1952, guns are a rarity. The first victim in this book dies in an accident. That sets off a chain reaction that leads to six more deaths. They die of natural causes during violent episodes, by poisoning, and one dies when a car is used as a murder weapon. But most die by the time-honored "blunt weapon." Dead is dead.
I love Chief Inspector Littlejohn and his sidekick Sargeant Cromwell of Scotland Yard. Based in London, they spend most of their time investigating crimes in small towns and villages in southern England. They are the ultimate professionals - calm, reasonable, clear-headed, and modest. They respect each other and each sticks to his own specialty. They're a great team and most people who encounter them become fans. Except the guilty, of course.
Crime and punishment are more random than we like to think. A bank clerk absconds with a small amount of money. "George Bellairs" was a bank manager himself, so he knew all about crimes committed by bank employees. The investigation uncovers an unrelated crime. Someone has emptied out an account by forging the owner's name. Now the owner has disappeared, along with his look-alike brother and the 10,000 pounds that the owner had accummulated. That's the equivalent of 370,000 pounds today, so it's a fortune worth killing for.
Eventually both brothers are found. The Oates brothers really need to stay away from water. And what happened to the body of the dog who died recently and was buried in the garden? That leads to the discovery of another murder that might never have been identified as murder had the bank's missing money not set off this investigation.
It's a frustrating case for Littlejohn and Cromwell because the suspects keep turning up dead. A copper naturally wants someone to arrest, but they won't get one in this book.
There are other, less serious crimes, like art forgery and blackmail. Again, most would never be uncovered if those dead bodies didn't keep turning up. Two of the people are innocent. One was in the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something he shouldn't have seen. One stood in the way of a middle-aged man infatuated with a pretty young barmaid. The rest are petty criminals who got more than they bargained for.
The identity of the killer came as a surprise to me, but the clues are all there. Never underestimate the police. Nine times out of ten, they're holding the high cards.
This is a fine series, made available to us through the miracle of e-publishing. I'm lucky to have lived long enough to reap the advantages. Bellairs wrote over fifty Inspector Littlejohn books and forty of them are available on Kindle. It speaks to Bellairs' talent that several of his mysteries are included in the BLCC series. I've read fifteen of the Inspector Littlejohn mysteries so I have a lot of good reading to look forward to. If you like old mysteries and haven't discovered this series, you should check it out.
November 15, 2018
Bellairs has a great talent in describing characters in his enjoyable classic crime novels. Finloe Oates wife has died. He hasn't been seen in awhile, and no one seemed to be looking. The bank called in one of the clerks to discuss his career, but he ran out the door and got hit by a car. Now the bank had to search for why he ran off, and they turned up the forgeries that removed all Finloe Oates' money from the bank. Then, Finloe couldn't be found.
The local police finally got help from Scotland Yard, and Littlejohn and Cromwell are put on the case. They then find that Lysander, Finloe's brother is also missing and may have been seen by Finloe's house. They soon find out that the Oates dog, who died right after Mrs. Oates, had been dug up and taken away. They surmised that perhaps the dog had been poisoned and possible Mrs. Oates was as well. They dug up Mrs. Oates, and she was also poisoned! They then find that Finloe's brother Lysander is also missing, a friend of his is scared of something, and interview the old housekeeper and find other friends. One of them, Hunt, is a forger and is having an affair with the wife of another teacher at his school. The husband is having his wife trailed by a detective who has some interesting information.
It seems that more than one person has been forging documents to get Finloe's money. The lawyer pretends to help, but he seems a little seamy. Littlejohn discovers that Lysander had a copy of a painting that Hunt has hanging in his house, and recognizes it's on the Isle of Mann, and perhaps that might be where Lysander is hiding. It's on his trip to Mann that Littlejohn meets the Rev Caesar Kinrade in the plane on the way. By Bellairs later books, they have become great friends.
By the end of the book, there have been several murders, and lots of suspects, but Littlejohn wins again.
The local police finally got help from Scotland Yard, and Littlejohn and Cromwell are put on the case. They then find that Lysander, Finloe's brother is also missing and may have been seen by Finloe's house. They soon find out that the Oates dog, who died right after Mrs. Oates, had been dug up and taken away. They surmised that perhaps the dog had been poisoned and possible Mrs. Oates was as well. They dug up Mrs. Oates, and she was also poisoned! They then find that Finloe's brother Lysander is also missing, a friend of his is scared of something, and interview the old housekeeper and find other friends. One of them, Hunt, is a forger and is having an affair with the wife of another teacher at his school. The husband is having his wife trailed by a detective who has some interesting information.
It seems that more than one person has been forging documents to get Finloe's money. The lawyer pretends to help, but he seems a little seamy. Littlejohn discovers that Lysander had a copy of a painting that Hunt has hanging in his house, and recognizes it's on the Isle of Mann, and perhaps that might be where Lysander is hiding. It's on his trip to Mann that Littlejohn meets the Rev Caesar Kinrade in the plane on the way. By Bellairs later books, they have become great friends.
By the end of the book, there have been several murders, and lots of suspects, but Littlejohn wins again.
March 3, 2018
What a wild plot!
Here's another one in Mr Bellairs amazing & twisted plots! I had no idea of who was doing what! This story was a wild & strange twist of someone getting their hands on eventually of £10,000 plus. The plus is the the selling of the disappearance of first man house, a extra £5,000. Quite a nice little incentive for committing 2 murders, well actually 4 plus a little dog. Not from the same either. The lengths that was taken to secure getting the money were amazing. Like I said, Not even the same man started the murdering! Before I give away anything I better just say this was a wonderfully written book, & should be enjoyed greatly by all those who love mystery & British, & set back in the period of the very late 40's or early 50''s. I've really enjoyed all of Inspector Littlejohns & of course Sargent Cromwell's books. So f not a dud in the lot!
Here's another one in Mr Bellairs amazing & twisted plots! I had no idea of who was doing what! This story was a wild & strange twist of someone getting their hands on eventually of £10,000 plus. The plus is the the selling of the disappearance of first man house, a extra £5,000. Quite a nice little incentive for committing 2 murders, well actually 4 plus a little dog. Not from the same either. The lengths that was taken to secure getting the money were amazing. Like I said, Not even the same man started the murdering! Before I give away anything I better just say this was a wonderfully written book, & should be enjoyed greatly by all those who love mystery & British, & set back in the period of the very late 40's or early 50''s. I've really enjoyed all of Inspector Littlejohns & of course Sargent Cromwell's books. So f not a dud in the lot!
October 13, 2021
A bank teller fears that his minor indiscretions with bank funds will be discovered and he kills himself. This sets off a whole series of complications starting with the realization by the bank manager that someone who has been forging an account holder’s signature and has realized about ten thousand pounds. The account holder is found dead (of natural causes but in a pond in his back yard) and and those involved in the forgery seem at first to be getting away with murder until all those in the plot are murdered, except for one man. Littlejohn has to travel to the Isle of Man to figure out the trail of the forger, the murderer, and money. This novel in the series is where Littlejohn meets Rev. Kinrade, who also plays an important part in The Cursing Stones. Reading this is like traveling to the Isle of Man!
May 11, 2017
Littlejohn and Cromwell are again united to solve murder with a large does of fraud in top. The writing is again of high quality full of intrigue twist and turns but with added humour a rare mixture but one George Bellairs excels in. He travels much in this adventure including a trip to the Isle of Man where we meet a Bishop for the first time who will appear in future books and is actually quite normal compared to so many that Littlejohn encounters on the many adventures he encounters with not just great characters but great names to match like PC Mee. I do recommend this book very highly I have yet to encounter a bad book from George Bellairs.
January 16, 2022
Oh no, don't for a minute think...
.. you can slip around Littlejohn without getting caught!!
Finloe and Lysander Oates brothers, Theodore Hunt and Willard Hazlett the friends of their childhood.. all loved Marian but Finloe won her hand.. three confirmed batchelors but when Marian dies Finloe disappears and with him every last penny goes too.. there's trouble afoot as the bank discover some forgeries.. and as one by one the death toll increases, a meter reader, Lysander and his bookseller friend, and always a man in dark glasses lurking almost unseen.. intrinsically linked Littlejohn knows who but can he actually prove it?
.. you can slip around Littlejohn without getting caught!!
Finloe and Lysander Oates brothers, Theodore Hunt and Willard Hazlett the friends of their childhood.. all loved Marian but Finloe won her hand.. three confirmed batchelors but when Marian dies Finloe disappears and with him every last penny goes too.. there's trouble afoot as the bank discover some forgeries.. and as one by one the death toll increases, a meter reader, Lysander and his bookseller friend, and always a man in dark glasses lurking almost unseen.. intrinsically linked Littlejohn knows who but can he actually prove it?
January 2, 2019
The one where Littlejohn meets Revd Caesar Kinrade
A bank cashier does a bolt when he is about to be offered promotion; the subsequent investigation finds that there are other forged documents as well as those the cashier was responsible for and so Inspector Littlejohn is put on the case of trying to track down two missing brothers. The story has an unusually high death count but is another excellent book from George Bellairs; having read several of his later books, this one is interesting as it is the first case which involves him going to the Isle of Man.
A bank cashier does a bolt when he is about to be offered promotion; the subsequent investigation finds that there are other forged documents as well as those the cashier was responsible for and so Inspector Littlejohn is put on the case of trying to track down two missing brothers. The story has an unusually high death count but is another excellent book from George Bellairs; having read several of his later books, this one is interesting as it is the first case which involves him going to the Isle of Man.
March 3, 2019
Kindle Unlimited | Probably just not a good time for me to read this | When I started this Littlejohn mystery, I liked it better than many of the others, but as I went on I found it difficult to stay engaged with. The ending chapters rehash the solution too much, which compounded the problem, even if it was one of the more complicated resolutions in the series. I'm not reading in order, so this was the first assistance of a Manx character who becomes a big part of the series.
July 1, 2022
I keep trying classic mysteries because of my early love of Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie. This was my second, and possibly last, Inspector Littlejohn mystery. While I like the characters Littlejohn and Cromwell, the author’s fondness for families with insanity running through them is disturbing. He also depicted several financial criminals as Jews (“Levantine” and “Gamaliel”), a common anti-Semitic trope. The misogyny of a husband repeatedly calling his wife “Jezebel” was a character’s attitude, so I gave that a pass, but then it was universally agreed that no one would believe her sworn testimony because she was an adulterer.
I guess the mysteries reflect the attitudes of the times, but I don’t want to spend time there.
I guess the mysteries reflect the attitudes of the times, but I don’t want to spend time there.
March 19, 2023
Bellairs worked in a bank for his day job and he uses that background for this complicated bank fraud, forgery, murder case; might be the craziest plot I’ve reading with its impersonations, love triangles, private detectives, unhappy couples, sexy barmaids, financial fraud and coincidences. Bellairs is a good writer though so it’s entertaining. I wonder what percentage of Golden Age novel criminals die before coming to trial?
August 26, 2023
A tangled web of mysterious events resolves into a single thread. This is a book from the 50s and the focus is on the police procedure. I like the way that the police seem to care for the ordinary folks they encounter, the apartment manager, the lawyer's clerk. By the end I was very invested in the outcome. If you like Agatha Christie and what one might call "old fashioned" mystery novels you'll probably enjoy this.
May 5, 2018
Good mystery
The book will keep you entertained and enthralled for a sitting. It’s well written, strongly plotted with enough twists to keep you interested to the end. The villain is well drawn with depths of malevolence. There are plenty of corpses and the terrain is well drawn. It’s a bit dated but none the worse for that.
The book will keep you entertained and enthralled for a sitting. It’s well written, strongly plotted with enough twists to keep you interested to the end. The villain is well drawn with depths of malevolence. There are plenty of corpses and the terrain is well drawn. It’s a bit dated but none the worse for that.
May 3, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed this story until the last chapter. I won't give away any spoilers, but I felt that what Inspector Littlejohn said to the perpetrator, which placed another person at risk, was unprofessional and hopefully would not be done in real life. Other than that, the story was full of twists and turns and entertaining.
August 22, 2023
Just when you think it may be solved, you notice that you're only half way through the book and know it's going to get more complicated!
My gripe with these books is that yes, Littlejohn solves the murder but there are a lot of minor loose ends that we never find out. I always wish there was a bit of an epilogue!
My gripe with these books is that yes, Littlejohn solves the murder but there are a lot of minor loose ends that we never find out. I always wish there was a bit of an epilogue!
May 15, 2025
I was hoping to find a new mystery series with a lot of books. Inspector Littlejohn qualifies as there are 57 of them. Maybe I shouldn't have started with #19, but it was in. I see that only 3 of these are available on Libby as audio books so not the trove I had hoped for. A decent mystery but I didn't really engage with the characters.
December 27, 2018
A runaway bank clerk leads to the discovery of fraud which leads to the discovery of a dead body and a slew of other mysteries. Who is the mysterious man with dark glasses? Can Inspector Littlejohn find out before more people die?
Well-written and interesting police procedural.
Well-written and interesting police procedural.
April 6, 2018
A very intricate plot well handled by Bellairs and includes his hero's first visit to the wonderful setting of the Isle of Man and his first meeting with his good friend, Archdeacon Caesar Kinrade. This one had me guessing for a long time.
August 12, 2018
This isn't my first Inspector Littlejohn mystery but so far it's my favorite. The author leads you down a path that turns out wrong and he continues to do it again and again and while you're going down each path it seems so right and turns out so wrong.
April 8, 2020
I enjoyed reading it, but it left me a little disappointed. The highlight is the first appearance of the Archdeacon. While the characteristic humour, observation, human understanding and teamwork are there, the setting hasn’t yet settled into one that captures this reader’s imagination. The plot seems to wander a bit as the detectives follow leads around the countryside.
These are minor quibbles. I am rating it within the Bellairs opus, of which I am a fan!
These are minor quibbles. I am rating it within the Bellairs opus, of which I am a fan!
January 15, 2021
Death in Dark Glasses is a really good Who Dun it. I liked the fast start. the procedural hunt and the uncomplicated home life of the Police inspector. The flawed characters were the suspects and ever they were believable. More solid than Christie and lots of twist and turns in the plot.
March 22, 2025
An entertaining adventure by the police. The deathbed confession tied up all the loose ends, but most of them were already discovered by a thorough police investigation.
The narrator of the audiobook Antony Ferguson did a marvelous job with a wide variety of characters.
The narrator of the audiobook Antony Ferguson did a marvelous job with a wide variety of characters.
February 7, 2018
Interesting in its own way. Death has multiple murders, another luny, evil this time. Still.
May 16, 2018
Quaint
I refreshing read of old fashioned writing which added to the feel of the story .nice vocabulary and good plot .a pleasure to read looking forward to the next book
I refreshing read of old fashioned writing which added to the feel of the story .nice vocabulary and good plot .a pleasure to read looking forward to the next book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews