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Flaxborough Chronicles #3
Здесь был Хопджой
Роман Колина Уотсона "Здесь был Хопджой" относится к "детективам без выстрелов", особенно ценимым любителями жанра. На русском языке произведения К. Уотсона ранее не издавались.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
74 people are currently reading
135 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
March 22, 2018
Farrago Books, UK is currently republishing the Flaxborough Mystery series, British police procedurals set in the 60s which feature Inspector Purbright and his sidekick, Sergeant Love. This mystery, the third in the series, is quite a convoluted case because there is no body, just hints that a crime may have been committed. To make matters even murkier, the local police learn that the missing man, Brian Hopjoy, has been working as a secret agent, so now they must deal with MI5 agents who want to keep everything on the hush-hush.
I am quite enjoying these old chestnuts. Colin Watson had an interesting way of describing his characters and situations--with a wry sense of humor, biting his tongue, fully descriptive yet not revealing all. Some examples:
Here Inspector Purbright is describing his Chief Constable to the forensic scientist examining evidence: "Have you met old Chubb, by the way? Oh you must. He thinks that crimes in this town are committed only in his policemen's imagination."
Describing MI5 Agent Pumphrey: "Purbright noticed his habit of jerking his long, pointed head forward and from side to side, as if his thoughts had to be continually shaken in their box to prevent them sticking together."
Describing the spinster Miriam Cook, a nosy neighbor: "Pouring tea was an occupation that gave this stringy, straight-backed woman a kind of fulfillment. Her thin mouth was set in concentration. The big nose with a wart on its side seemed to stretch forth in anxious assessment of the strength and fragrance of the brew. Her eyes, pale and uncalm with hypochondria, steadied to measure the mounting amber line; there even shone in them a little pride."
I was fully convinced that I knew exactly what was going on here in this story, but lo and behold, Watson pulled the rug out from under my beautiful theory and surprised me, creating an ending that was ironic and satisfying. And I loved that Purbright got the ever-serious Agent Pumphrey with a joke at the end! Perfect!
I am looking forward to reading more in this series. Many thanks to Farrago Books and NetGalley for providing an arc for my honest review.
I am quite enjoying these old chestnuts. Colin Watson had an interesting way of describing his characters and situations--with a wry sense of humor, biting his tongue, fully descriptive yet not revealing all. Some examples:
Here Inspector Purbright is describing his Chief Constable to the forensic scientist examining evidence: "Have you met old Chubb, by the way? Oh you must. He thinks that crimes in this town are committed only in his policemen's imagination."
Describing MI5 Agent Pumphrey: "Purbright noticed his habit of jerking his long, pointed head forward and from side to side, as if his thoughts had to be continually shaken in their box to prevent them sticking together."
Describing the spinster Miriam Cook, a nosy neighbor: "Pouring tea was an occupation that gave this stringy, straight-backed woman a kind of fulfillment. Her thin mouth was set in concentration. The big nose with a wart on its side seemed to stretch forth in anxious assessment of the strength and fragrance of the brew. Her eyes, pale and uncalm with hypochondria, steadied to measure the mounting amber line; there even shone in them a little pride."
I was fully convinced that I knew exactly what was going on here in this story, but lo and behold, Watson pulled the rug out from under my beautiful theory and surprised me, creating an ending that was ironic and satisfying. And I loved that Purbright got the ever-serious Agent Pumphrey with a joke at the end! Perfect!
I am looking forward to reading more in this series. Many thanks to Farrago Books and NetGalley for providing an arc for my honest review.
April 12, 2018
I've enjoyed the previous Inspector Purbright books but this one didn't quite grab me in the same way. I think that happens with all authors (certainly to me anyway) in that it's hard to love every book.
This one has all the usual mix of offbeat characters, wry humour, a wonderful way of writing but I struggled to get into the plot with this one. It was an entertaining, short read just like the others. I've got the rest of the series that has been released and have faith that the others will be as good as the earlier two books.
Free arc from netgalley
This one has all the usual mix of offbeat characters, wry humour, a wonderful way of writing but I struggled to get into the plot with this one. It was an entertaining, short read just like the others. I've got the rest of the series that has been released and have faith that the others will be as good as the earlier two books.
Free arc from netgalley
February 26, 2018
While Hopjoy Was Here (Farrago 2018), third in the Flaxborough Mystery trilogy, is a detective crime mystery, that doesn't begin to describe this quirky, humorous, beguiling novel. Chief Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love are called in when Brian Hopjoy and his roommate disappear from their rented lodgings at 14 Beatrice Avenue. While none of the neighbors even hint at foul play, there are secrets only known to a few in law enforcement that make this much more complicated than it appears. For starters, Hopjoy is an undercover operative.
Yes, this sounds mundane but it's not the plot is it that really makes this book a jewel. Here are a few of the lines:
"Purbright, who had been examining his finger-ends while marveling at the length and vehemence of Chubb’s speech, looked up blandly at Ross. It was Pumphrey, though, who spoke first."
"Staring out at him from behind the windows of the twenty-three cafés and snack bars were the perplexed, hostile eyes of holiday-makers awaiting the fish and chips, pies and chips, ham and chips, egg and chips, sausage and chips –in fact, every permutation of succulence except chips and chips –that were being borne to their plastic-topped tables by girls with corded necks and dress seams strained to the limit as they ferried their great trays."
"It had been erected only five years previously by a Flaxborough jobbing builder whose coincidental relationship with the chairman of the housing committee had put him in the way of contracts for five estates of bay-windowed rabbit hutches and made the chairman the brother-in-law of a millionaire."
Do you see what I mean? Long sentences with tons of detail that threaten to derail your concentration but don't. Instead, you come away feeling like there is so much to say, how could it be encapsulated in fewer words? 'Unusual' is too pedestrian a term for this book. 'Eclectic' is closer. Whatever the description, 'delightfully entertaining' is the result. I confess I almost quit reading several times early in the story because of its unusual approach to unpacking the detective drama:
"The sudden smile invested his large, rather lumpishly cast face with a charm that was the greater for being unexpected, like greenery on a pit heap. ‘I’m"
"...‘they’re a rum lot of buggers in Flax."
"...fresh slip of toilet tissue curled preparatorily across the neck rest of the shaving chair was as motionless as a marble scroll. The scissors, razors, and hand clippers set in methodic array at the back of the big oval wash-basin seemed as unlikely to be put ever again to use as tools sanguinely sealed into a burial chamber in Luxor."
But Watson's storytelling technique is so unique, I became hooked. By the last word, I was ready to read more.
Yes, this sounds mundane but it's not the plot is it that really makes this book a jewel. Here are a few of the lines:
"Purbright, who had been examining his finger-ends while marveling at the length and vehemence of Chubb’s speech, looked up blandly at Ross. It was Pumphrey, though, who spoke first."
"Staring out at him from behind the windows of the twenty-three cafés and snack bars were the perplexed, hostile eyes of holiday-makers awaiting the fish and chips, pies and chips, ham and chips, egg and chips, sausage and chips –in fact, every permutation of succulence except chips and chips –that were being borne to their plastic-topped tables by girls with corded necks and dress seams strained to the limit as they ferried their great trays."
"It had been erected only five years previously by a Flaxborough jobbing builder whose coincidental relationship with the chairman of the housing committee had put him in the way of contracts for five estates of bay-windowed rabbit hutches and made the chairman the brother-in-law of a millionaire."
Do you see what I mean? Long sentences with tons of detail that threaten to derail your concentration but don't. Instead, you come away feeling like there is so much to say, how could it be encapsulated in fewer words? 'Unusual' is too pedestrian a term for this book. 'Eclectic' is closer. Whatever the description, 'delightfully entertaining' is the result. I confess I almost quit reading several times early in the story because of its unusual approach to unpacking the detective drama:
"The sudden smile invested his large, rather lumpishly cast face with a charm that was the greater for being unexpected, like greenery on a pit heap. ‘I’m"
"...‘they’re a rum lot of buggers in Flax."
"...fresh slip of toilet tissue curled preparatorily across the neck rest of the shaving chair was as motionless as a marble scroll. The scissors, razors, and hand clippers set in methodic array at the back of the big oval wash-basin seemed as unlikely to be put ever again to use as tools sanguinely sealed into a burial chamber in Luxor."
But Watson's storytelling technique is so unique, I became hooked. By the last word, I was ready to read more.
June 7, 2018
Wonderfully twisting tale of murder and the country copper versus the might of the secret service. So beautifully related by someone whose command of the language I wish I had.
Onto book 4....
Onto book 4....
March 18, 2018
I am coming to love this series and Hopjoy Was Here, the third, is another good one. This time Purbright and his team investigate a possible acid-bath murder, as agents of National Security hover because one of their own may be the victim. It's a well told, quite twisty tale, but as always it is Colin Watson's writing which is the really enjoyable thing.
Watson has a dry, sardonic take on things, illustrated by this lovely little example as Purbright calls to interview a neighbour of the house which is the crime scene: "Mrs Alice Sayers celebrated the installation of a police inspector in her drawing-room by serving a jug of hot milk and water delicately tinctured with coffee essence..." The book is full of such amusing and penetrating little nuggets of characterisation, including a very enjoyable satire of self-important spies, while the plot moves on at a fairly leisurely pace - which is just fine by me.
My sole reservation is that women are treated with almost universal contempt, and there are some observations about their sexuality among other things which border on the offensive. Even allowing for the prevailing attitudes of the period, I did find this uncomfortable. However, there is so much else to enjoy here that I can still warmly recommend the book.
(My thanks to Farrago for an ARC via NetGalley.)
Watson has a dry, sardonic take on things, illustrated by this lovely little example as Purbright calls to interview a neighbour of the house which is the crime scene: "Mrs Alice Sayers celebrated the installation of a police inspector in her drawing-room by serving a jug of hot milk and water delicately tinctured with coffee essence..." The book is full of such amusing and penetrating little nuggets of characterisation, including a very enjoyable satire of self-important spies, while the plot moves on at a fairly leisurely pace - which is just fine by me.
My sole reservation is that women are treated with almost universal contempt, and there are some observations about their sexuality among other things which border on the offensive. Even allowing for the prevailing attitudes of the period, I did find this uncomfortable. However, there is so much else to enjoy here that I can still warmly recommend the book.
(My thanks to Farrago for an ARC via NetGalley.)
February 20, 2018
I would like to thank Netgalley and Farrago for an advance copy of Hopjoy was Here, the third police procedural in the Flaxborough Mystery series, originally published in 1962.
The novel opens with the local constabulary removing a bath from 14 Beatrice Avenue, home of Gordon Piriam and his paying guest Brian Hopjoy. Things get murkier when something is found in the drains and the spooks turn up, which is more than can be said of the residents who are both suspiciously missing.
What a joy this novel is to read. It had me laughing out loud from the start as Mr Watson reveals the neighbours' thoughts on these strange goings-on, not what one would expect from such a nice neighbourhood. The arrival of the spooks, Ross and Pumphrey, just added to my glee as Mr Watson captures their cold war paranoia and skewed thinking perfectly. It all seems like nonsense nowadays but Soviet espionage was taken very seriously back in the day. It's a brilliant parody with the scene in the snooker hall a particular favourite.
Not content with humour Mr Watson has filled his novel with a clever plot, full of misdirection and sharp thinking. The reveals are perhaps a bit slow in coming but I soon gathered enough to work out what had happened - wrongly as Mr Watson keeps a few secrets up his sleeve and the poetically ironic ending is just fabulous.
As usual Inspector Purbright takes him time getting to the right conclusion via a few detours and false trails but he's not as daft as people take him for. Of course, the underestimated detective is a bit of a cliche nowadays but it works well in this novel as it gives Mr Watson the opportunity to flesh out the minor characters through their convesations with him and concentrate on the plotting. With no DNA and little in the way of modern forensics this was the only way to conduct an investigation back then.
Hopjoy was Here is the best of the novels so far in the series so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.
The novel opens with the local constabulary removing a bath from 14 Beatrice Avenue, home of Gordon Piriam and his paying guest Brian Hopjoy. Things get murkier when something is found in the drains and the spooks turn up, which is more than can be said of the residents who are both suspiciously missing.
What a joy this novel is to read. It had me laughing out loud from the start as Mr Watson reveals the neighbours' thoughts on these strange goings-on, not what one would expect from such a nice neighbourhood. The arrival of the spooks, Ross and Pumphrey, just added to my glee as Mr Watson captures their cold war paranoia and skewed thinking perfectly. It all seems like nonsense nowadays but Soviet espionage was taken very seriously back in the day. It's a brilliant parody with the scene in the snooker hall a particular favourite.
Not content with humour Mr Watson has filled his novel with a clever plot, full of misdirection and sharp thinking. The reveals are perhaps a bit slow in coming but I soon gathered enough to work out what had happened - wrongly as Mr Watson keeps a few secrets up his sleeve and the poetically ironic ending is just fabulous.
As usual Inspector Purbright takes him time getting to the right conclusion via a few detours and false trails but he's not as daft as people take him for. Of course, the underestimated detective is a bit of a cliche nowadays but it works well in this novel as it gives Mr Watson the opportunity to flesh out the minor characters through their convesations with him and concentrate on the plotting. With no DNA and little in the way of modern forensics this was the only way to conduct an investigation back then.
Hopjoy was Here is the best of the novels so far in the series so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.
April 2, 2018
Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love are once again investigating a puzzling disappearance/murder. This corner of rural 1950s England is full of oddball places and unexpected situations. The investigation provides contact with many new and quirky characters, including a couple of MI5 operatives who think they are so much smarter than the local constables. Even amongst the locals, few characters seem to talk plainly but instead speak in double meanings and misdirection. I wouldn't call the language tedious, but it does eventually get a bit tiresome having to decipher the hidden meaning in every description and conversation, especially since I'm trying to solve the mystery before all is revealed. The plot veers off from the predictable suspect, then turns back on itself before coming to its conclusion, but again with an unexpected twist. I enjoyed it and recommend it to Anglophiles and lovers of mid-twentieth century whodunnits.
I voluntarily read an advanced review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley and I offer my honest opinion in response.
I voluntarily read an advanced review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley and I offer my honest opinion in response.
October 23, 2019
Inspector Purbright investigates a double disappearance- tobacconist Gordon Periam and his lodger Brian Hopjoy - and is alarmed when examination of the drains suggests someone has met a gruesome end. Then a couple of odd government agents appear looking for Hopjoy and events become even more complicated.
This is a quirky mystery with a rather bizarre plot - definitely not to be taken too seriously! Watson produces some biting descriptions of the provincial characters in Flaxborough, and has a really clever way with language. This story had the feel of a saucy seaside postcard, with a lot of innuendo, but mixed up with some black humour.
This is the second book I've read in this series - I'm still in two minds about it and would like a twistier plot, but I think Watson's style will grow on me, and I certainly appreciate the satirical elements.
This is a quirky mystery with a rather bizarre plot - definitely not to be taken too seriously! Watson produces some biting descriptions of the provincial characters in Flaxborough, and has a really clever way with language. This story had the feel of a saucy seaside postcard, with a lot of innuendo, but mixed up with some black humour.
This is the second book I've read in this series - I'm still in two minds about it and would like a twistier plot, but I think Watson's style will grow on me, and I certainly appreciate the satirical elements.
December 23, 2025
This is a review of the Flaxborough Chronicles series. Inspector Purbright and Detective Sergeant Love uncover all kinds of shady dealings, along with the requisite murder or two beneath the surface of the upstanding town of Flaxborough. My favorites involve the inimitable Miss Lucilla Edith Cavell Teatime whose schemes turn out to help in solving the case. The BBC television series Murder Most English captures the comic, dry wit of the books perfectly. If you are looking for something to put a smile on your face, treat yourself to books or TV series or both.
March 24, 2018
All the neighbors are watching as the Flaxborough police remove a bathtub from a local home. The home is occupied by two bachelors, but neither has been seen for a few days. The police received an anonymous letter indicating that something may have happened in the bathroom. Inspector Purbright is on the case and his loyal sergeant, Sid Love, is right by his side. But just as they are getting started a couple of Secret Service guys show up claiming that one of the men, Hopjoy, is a spy working in the area. Periam, the second bachelor is the owner of the house and by all accounts the two men lived together harmoniously. But Purbright suspects that Hopjoy has not gone off on some mission but has in fact been murdered.
This is my favorite book in the series so far. This story takes us back to Flaxborough proper where Purbright is really in his element. I love how Colin Watson starts his books because he just drops you into the drama without preamble and the first mystery the reader has to solve is what the heck happened, in this case, to cause an entire tub to be removed as police evidence. In this story, I enjoyed Purbright even more; he seems to have a firmer personality this time around. There are also some great new characters. The two Secret Service guys were very intriguing, I found their way of working together to be a bit slapstick in nature but still enjoyable reading. The investigation goes back and forth between what Purbright and Love and learning and what the SS guys are learning. It all comes together in the end for a somewhat shocking conclusion.
This is my favorite book in the series so far. This story takes us back to Flaxborough proper where Purbright is really in his element. I love how Colin Watson starts his books because he just drops you into the drama without preamble and the first mystery the reader has to solve is what the heck happened, in this case, to cause an entire tub to be removed as police evidence. In this story, I enjoyed Purbright even more; he seems to have a firmer personality this time around. There are also some great new characters. The two Secret Service guys were very intriguing, I found their way of working together to be a bit slapstick in nature but still enjoyable reading. The investigation goes back and forth between what Purbright and Love and learning and what the SS guys are learning. It all comes together in the end for a somewhat shocking conclusion.
April 11, 2018
The sight of some large policemen taking a bathtub from a respectable home in the quiet market town of Flaxborough is not a usual occurrence. Inspector Purbright suspects a particularly grisly crime (see John George Haigh for the pertinent details) has been committed in the home. Inspector Purbright knows someone is dead, but who is it?Is it the missing milquetoast tobacconist, Gordon Periam, who owns the property, or his fly-by-night lodger, Hopjoy? As Purbright's investigation proceeds with the well-meaning and ultimately bumbling interference from the British Spy service, Purbright learns that appearances can be deceiving.
Hopjoy was Here is another witty and blackly humorous entry in Colin Watson's classic series. Each of the books so far has been a great read, bringing back a time long gone in Britain. Thanks to Farrago Books for bringing them back in new editions, and also to NetGalley for an advance copy. The opinions are my own.
Hopjoy was Here is another witty and blackly humorous entry in Colin Watson's classic series. Each of the books so far has been a great read, bringing back a time long gone in Britain. Thanks to Farrago Books for bringing them back in new editions, and also to NetGalley for an advance copy. The opinions are my own.
October 17, 2023
The police at Flaxborough receive an anonymous tip. Something nasty has happened at the home of of Gordon Periam. There was some sort of altercation in the bathroom and neither Periam nor his lodger, Brian Hopjoy have been seen since. Inspector Purbright and company find bloodstains in the bathroom, evidence of the use of acid, and something nasty in the drains. It looks like someone was done away with in a very ruthless manner. But who? Is it Hopjoy who has been dissolved? Or is it Periam? They've barely begun the investigation when a couple of MI5 men show up--apparently Hopjoy was one of theirs and they want to make sure that everything "hush-hush" stays hushed. So now Purbright has to figure out not only who (if anyone) has been killed and, if it's Hopyjoy whether his MI5 work resulted in his death or if it was something more prosaic (like jealousy). The trail leads Purbright and the secret agents on a merry chase through gambling dens to a rural farm and from a fancy hotel to the seaside where an interesting item washes up.
Watson infuses his story with humor--most particularly in its send-up of the spy trade. The MI5 fellows see everything through their top-secret lens and so betting slips become secret codes and absolutely everything has a double-meaning. And they tend to think the local police are poor fish who just can't understand all this hush-hush business. But just maybe this time a murder is just a murder and not some sort of end game in a double agent duel. It's amusing to see Purbright and Sergeant Love get the better of the secret agent men.
Purbright is a great character with a very understated intelligence that works away at the everyday details while the MI5 guys run about looking for double agents in haylofts and betting parlors. The plot is well done too. Watson keeps switching things until you're just not sure who died, if anyone died, and if they did where are they? Quite a lot of fun. ★★★ and 1/2 [rounded up here]
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
Watson infuses his story with humor--most particularly in its send-up of the spy trade. The MI5 fellows see everything through their top-secret lens and so betting slips become secret codes and absolutely everything has a double-meaning. And they tend to think the local police are poor fish who just can't understand all this hush-hush business. But just maybe this time a murder is just a murder and not some sort of end game in a double agent duel. It's amusing to see Purbright and Sergeant Love get the better of the secret agent men.
Purbright is a great character with a very understated intelligence that works away at the everyday details while the MI5 guys run about looking for double agents in haylofts and betting parlors. The plot is well done too. Watson keeps switching things until you're just not sure who died, if anyone died, and if they did where are they? Quite a lot of fun. ★★★ and 1/2 [rounded up here]
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
March 5, 2023
CAWPILE 5.71
Thoroughly enjoyed this one, far more than the second one.
A body, melted and possibly flushed down the drain- which housemate was it? Who did the crime?
I really liked this- the pacing was far better than previous books in this series.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one, far more than the second one.
A body, melted and possibly flushed down the drain- which housemate was it? Who did the crime?
I really liked this- the pacing was far better than previous books in this series.
March 22, 2018
I was so looking forward to the release of Hopjoy Was Here, the third Flaxborough Mystery by Colin Watson, and I was not disappointed. This story is more complex and feels much darker than the previous two books in the series, but Colin Watson once again through his delightful way with words presents a suspenseful mystery with a vivid, varied cast of characters and settings. He expertly combines humor and sadness as well as injecting some serious commentary about the times and towns like Flaxborough.
Once again, we are with Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Malley. The police have received a letter about some goings-on at 14 Beatrice Avenue and they are off to investigate. What they discover leads to the sight of four burly policeman manhandling a bath down the front path of the villa and the police digging around in the drain. It’s a very intriguing beginning. You aren’t quite sure what’s in that drain, but imagination goes wild – and it seems pretty disgusting. The two occupants of the house - nice Gordon Periam, the mild-mannered tobacconist, and his not-so-nice-bit-of-a-bounder lodger Brian Hopjoy – can’t be found, or . . . ewww. The mysterious Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee, aka Ross and Pumphrey show up to butt into the police investigation, all hush hush. James Bond, anyone?
Forensics, albeit forensics of 1957 or 1958 since DNA testing wasn’t used until 1986, come into play, but Warlock of the Forensic Science Labs, whose motto is ‘hang ‘em by a thread’ is pretty good at collecting and analyzing the evidence. There’s a lot of it, and nothing is as it seems.
Hopjoy Was Here is a solid mystery, with clues provided along the way but nothing is obvious. I didn’t figure things out until the end. And as always, due to Colin Watson’s mastery of the English language, I was left with some vivid images of people or places, a couple of new words or phrases to use, and some grooming tips. I’ll leave you with these examples: People: Pumphrey - had a habit of pulling his right ear lobe as if it put him in circuit with an electronic sensor, or jerking his long, pointed head forward and from side to side, as if his thoughts had to be continually shaken in their box to prevent them sticking together, and he stopped and turned his eyes, like those of an El Greco Christ, upon Ross. Warlock - rose and slipped his restless hands into his trouser pockets, where they continued to rummage like inquisitive mice. New words: Maybe you think I’m being a bit of a stupid-sides, and I don’t think I can recall a case of fiancecide. And finally, some fashion and grooming: Although an almost offensively inept hair style – plaits coiled into round pads over her ears – early Star Wars? And lastly, Purbright at the barber shop: Ah, you’re very wise sir; clipping does tend to stimulate. I personally find the best answer to what we might vulgarly call the hair nose-hole is to fire it a couple of times a year.’ His eyes wandered to a jar stacked with wax tapers. ‘like a railway embankment, you know.’ Purbright shook his head vigourously. And you must be laughing by now.
I thoroughly enjoyed Hopjoy was here and unhesitatingly recommend it. Read it for the words; the good mystery is a bonus. I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley and am looking forward to starting the next in the Flaxborough series.
Once again, we are with Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Malley. The police have received a letter about some goings-on at 14 Beatrice Avenue and they are off to investigate. What they discover leads to the sight of four burly policeman manhandling a bath down the front path of the villa and the police digging around in the drain. It’s a very intriguing beginning. You aren’t quite sure what’s in that drain, but imagination goes wild – and it seems pretty disgusting. The two occupants of the house - nice Gordon Periam, the mild-mannered tobacconist, and his not-so-nice-bit-of-a-bounder lodger Brian Hopjoy – can’t be found, or . . . ewww. The mysterious Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee, aka Ross and Pumphrey show up to butt into the police investigation, all hush hush. James Bond, anyone?
Forensics, albeit forensics of 1957 or 1958 since DNA testing wasn’t used until 1986, come into play, but Warlock of the Forensic Science Labs, whose motto is ‘hang ‘em by a thread’ is pretty good at collecting and analyzing the evidence. There’s a lot of it, and nothing is as it seems.
Hopjoy Was Here is a solid mystery, with clues provided along the way but nothing is obvious. I didn’t figure things out until the end. And as always, due to Colin Watson’s mastery of the English language, I was left with some vivid images of people or places, a couple of new words or phrases to use, and some grooming tips. I’ll leave you with these examples: People: Pumphrey - had a habit of pulling his right ear lobe as if it put him in circuit with an electronic sensor, or jerking his long, pointed head forward and from side to side, as if his thoughts had to be continually shaken in their box to prevent them sticking together, and he stopped and turned his eyes, like those of an El Greco Christ, upon Ross. Warlock - rose and slipped his restless hands into his trouser pockets, where they continued to rummage like inquisitive mice. New words: Maybe you think I’m being a bit of a stupid-sides, and I don’t think I can recall a case of fiancecide. And finally, some fashion and grooming: Although an almost offensively inept hair style – plaits coiled into round pads over her ears – early Star Wars? And lastly, Purbright at the barber shop: Ah, you’re very wise sir; clipping does tend to stimulate. I personally find the best answer to what we might vulgarly call the hair nose-hole is to fire it a couple of times a year.’ His eyes wandered to a jar stacked with wax tapers. ‘like a railway embankment, you know.’ Purbright shook his head vigourously. And you must be laughing by now.
I thoroughly enjoyed Hopjoy was here and unhesitatingly recommend it. Read it for the words; the good mystery is a bonus. I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley and am looking forward to starting the next in the Flaxborough series.
May 16, 2018
When Inspector Purbright receives an anonymous letter telling him to come to the home of a local because of mysterious happenings, he gets more than he bargained for. It seems that someone has been murdered: dissolved in acid, if you will; and Purbright knows that two men lived in the home - Periam and Hopjoy - but since neither can be found, he has no idea which it was.
However, help is soon on the horizon. Appearing are two men of the government, apparently special agents, who tell him that Hopjoy was one of them and they need to know if the remains (such as they are) belong to him. So Purbright does what he does best: he sets his mind spinning and his men on the roundabout to find the remaining man and perhaps a killer.
What he does find is that one of the men remain, and he is on his honeymoon. While Purbright believes (somewhat) that the man knew nothing about what was occurring in his home, he nevertheless continues to investigate, wanting to know the details. And what he finds is not only disturbing, it seems the killer very nearly got away with it...
This is the third book in the series and a very good entry indeed. Inspector Purbright is at it again, deftly maneuvering his superior Chubb into thinking that he's the one who's come up with the idea to continue the investigation (as he always does) while doing exactly what he wants to do anyway. This time out, he has the dubious help of two agents, Ross (who gets a little more than he bargains for) and Pumphrey, who are conducting their own investigation but don't know the locals nor how to really deal with them but do their best.
The tale is well-told, and while this is an older book (written in 1962) I find that oftentimes the older books are some of the best, and this is no different. It is deftly told, and the plot is well done indeed, with plenty of twists and turns and quite a few surprises. While it feels we are on the same track as Purbright, when he is surprised, we are also. And we discover the truth at almost the same time and have much the same reaction as him.
In the end, I would say that this series has not disappointed me and I truly enjoy Purbright's clever mind. He is a marvelous British Inspector and I love spending time with him. The ending is also a surprise - I imagine both to Purbright and the murderer - but please do not skip to it and read through because it is the journey to the end that makes it all worthwhile. I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.
However, help is soon on the horizon. Appearing are two men of the government, apparently special agents, who tell him that Hopjoy was one of them and they need to know if the remains (such as they are) belong to him. So Purbright does what he does best: he sets his mind spinning and his men on the roundabout to find the remaining man and perhaps a killer.
What he does find is that one of the men remain, and he is on his honeymoon. While Purbright believes (somewhat) that the man knew nothing about what was occurring in his home, he nevertheless continues to investigate, wanting to know the details. And what he finds is not only disturbing, it seems the killer very nearly got away with it...
This is the third book in the series and a very good entry indeed. Inspector Purbright is at it again, deftly maneuvering his superior Chubb into thinking that he's the one who's come up with the idea to continue the investigation (as he always does) while doing exactly what he wants to do anyway. This time out, he has the dubious help of two agents, Ross (who gets a little more than he bargains for) and Pumphrey, who are conducting their own investigation but don't know the locals nor how to really deal with them but do their best.
The tale is well-told, and while this is an older book (written in 1962) I find that oftentimes the older books are some of the best, and this is no different. It is deftly told, and the plot is well done indeed, with plenty of twists and turns and quite a few surprises. While it feels we are on the same track as Purbright, when he is surprised, we are also. And we discover the truth at almost the same time and have much the same reaction as him.
In the end, I would say that this series has not disappointed me and I truly enjoy Purbright's clever mind. He is a marvelous British Inspector and I love spending time with him. The ending is also a surprise - I imagine both to Purbright and the murderer - but please do not skip to it and read through because it is the journey to the end that makes it all worthwhile. I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.
September 10, 2019
A fun mystery with an unusual beginning, humorous middle, and twisty ending. The two spies 'helping' the investigation are amusing secondary characters, accurately described as TweedleDum and TweedleDee, and never really aware of their co-worker's real work.
September 17, 2020
The third novel in the Flaxborough series, I've always thought that it was here that Colin Watson declared his hand and intentions most firmly. Everything about this novel is slightly wacky, very English in humour and stylings, and slyly clever.
As you will get from the opening line of the blurb:
One would hope not, else the net curtains subsequently referred to would fray from all the twitching, and neighbours would hyperventilate from all the "making observations to Chief Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love". Mind you it's not every day they come across a pair quite like nice Mr Gordon Periam, mild-mannered tobacconist, owner of the residence post the death of his mother; and the rather less nice, and therefore infinitely more comment worthy, Mr Brian Hopjoy, traveller, alleged spy and all round cad.
It would be too easy to provide spoilers about why the bath, why the interest in the backyard at number 14 Beatrice Avenue, and exactly who has gone missing (which is a matter of some conjecture for quite some time). But suffice to say that by the time a couple of government spooks are on the scene, everything goes a bit too James Bond for Purbright's taste, to say nothing of what it does to his senior officer.
As is the case with this series, you do need to remember that this novel was first published in 1962 (going on to win a Silver Dagger from the British CWA), so some of the observations of womanly attributes are more than a bit distasteful in this day and age, and some of the humour pushes the the bounds of political correctness to the point where some readers may find themselves more than a bit startled.
Having come to the series sometime in the '70's (luckily as I doubt I'd have snuck it past parental supervision in the early '60s), I've always been utterly beguiled by the wry, witty, slightly lunatic stylings of the novels, and HOPJOY WAS HERE has been a bit of a favourite because the plot is so devilishly clever to boot.
As you will get from the opening line of the blurb:
The gripping sight of four burly policeman manhandling a bath down the front path of a respectable villa isn't one the residents of Flaxborough see every day.
One would hope not, else the net curtains subsequently referred to would fray from all the twitching, and neighbours would hyperventilate from all the "making observations to Chief Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love". Mind you it's not every day they come across a pair quite like nice Mr Gordon Periam, mild-mannered tobacconist, owner of the residence post the death of his mother; and the rather less nice, and therefore infinitely more comment worthy, Mr Brian Hopjoy, traveller, alleged spy and all round cad.
It would be too easy to provide spoilers about why the bath, why the interest in the backyard at number 14 Beatrice Avenue, and exactly who has gone missing (which is a matter of some conjecture for quite some time). But suffice to say that by the time a couple of government spooks are on the scene, everything goes a bit too James Bond for Purbright's taste, to say nothing of what it does to his senior officer.
As is the case with this series, you do need to remember that this novel was first published in 1962 (going on to win a Silver Dagger from the British CWA), so some of the observations of womanly attributes are more than a bit distasteful in this day and age, and some of the humour pushes the the bounds of political correctness to the point where some readers may find themselves more than a bit startled.
Having come to the series sometime in the '70's (luckily as I doubt I'd have snuck it past parental supervision in the early '60s), I've always been utterly beguiled by the wry, witty, slightly lunatic stylings of the novels, and HOPJOY WAS HERE has been a bit of a favourite because the plot is so devilishly clever to boot.
March 6, 2018
The mysteries of Flaxborough are meant to be savored, relished for their very British drollery. The wit can sometimes be lost on what passes for American sensibilities (or the lack thereof); this can easily be overcome with moments of clarifying rumination.
HOPJOY WAS HERE, the third book in the series, starts out with more grue than does its two predecessors. Inspector Purbright is sent on a merry chase, looking for not only a killer, but the dead body as well. Clues abound, perhaps too many, and there is the added burden of the men from London.
All in all, HOPJOY WAS HERE provides a convoluted romp of a mystery that covers a lot of territory in Flaxborough, any number of interesting citizens, and proves to be a tantalizing read from beginning to end.
I do recommend that you start your exploration of Flaxborough with the first book in the series, COFFIN, SCARCELY USED, if for no other reason than to become acquainted with the good folks of Flaxborough and their inimitable constabulary.
HOPJOY WAS HERE, the third book in the series, starts out with more grue than does its two predecessors. Inspector Purbright is sent on a merry chase, looking for not only a killer, but the dead body as well. Clues abound, perhaps too many, and there is the added burden of the men from London.
All in all, HOPJOY WAS HERE provides a convoluted romp of a mystery that covers a lot of territory in Flaxborough, any number of interesting citizens, and proves to be a tantalizing read from beginning to end.
I do recommend that you start your exploration of Flaxborough with the first book in the series, COFFIN, SCARCELY USED, if for no other reason than to become acquainted with the good folks of Flaxborough and their inimitable constabulary.
May 18, 2019
I don't know how I stumbled upon Colin Watson, and I only went for Hopjoy Was Here because the first in the series wasn't available from the library. This was dragged from the depths of store, first published in 1962. What an absolute delight! I've been on a crime binge, starting with perhaps the most popular author, who bombed with me but happily working up to this. It's Wodehouse, it's Jerome K. Jerome, it's even Ian Fleming but cased in a proper workaday small town crime novel. Here we have Purbright and the other Flaxborough police officers investigating, along with an interesting and interested pair from another branch of British security. An anonymous letter arrives inviting the local police to investigate goings on at Beatrice Avenue and it seems that the goings on are extremely disturbing. Both the known residents of the house in question are missing and it seems that one of them may have exited, gruesomely, down the plughole. It's funny, assuming you like Watson's sense of humour and turn of phrase, and very clever.
August 26, 2021
This series keeps getting better as it goes. I love that it gives you all the clues as they're found, rather than having the detective keep a few key clues to himself; that always seems dishonest, and reflective of laziness on the part of the author. But Watson tells you everything, lets you come along for the ride, even lets you get ahead of the cops...and then they discover one last clue that turns everything upside-down. I thought I had this whole thing figured out, and then it turned out I was only half-right. That's the best thing a mystery can do: you still get to feel smart, but at the last moment it turns out that the author was just slightly smarter. Also, with this one in particular, I like the way it's a sort of Ian Fleming parody, right down to occasional sleazy encounters with agents who appear to be merely hotel clerks or farmers. There's even a James Bond gadget! This one hits a lot of great notes, is what I'm saying. I'm very much looking forward to the rest of these.
July 5, 2019
Two worlds meet in Flaxborough in this the third of Colin Watson’s series: both are parodied. One is the cosy, silly world of small town respectability:
Mrs Alice Sayers switched on an electric fire that produced a cinematic representation of flames and a terrible smell of singeing fluff, and unshrouded the cage of a budgerigar called Trevor.
The other world is Ian Fleming:
Ross carefully pocketed the doeskin pouch from which he had been shredding Latakia (black, he thought, as the gullet of that Transylvanian girl, rigid and love-groaning as his mouth descended upon hers in the Bucharest pullman…)
The secret service agents who come to Flaxborough are shown up as just as much self-deluding fantasists as the average inhabitant of Flaxborough by Solid provincial policeman Inspector Purbright. Watson’s parodic literary skills are as sharp for both. Personally, I enjoyed the small town satire more but I’m not a great one for James Bond.
Mrs Alice Sayers switched on an electric fire that produced a cinematic representation of flames and a terrible smell of singeing fluff, and unshrouded the cage of a budgerigar called Trevor.
The other world is Ian Fleming:
Ross carefully pocketed the doeskin pouch from which he had been shredding Latakia (black, he thought, as the gullet of that Transylvanian girl, rigid and love-groaning as his mouth descended upon hers in the Bucharest pullman…)
The secret service agents who come to Flaxborough are shown up as just as much self-deluding fantasists as the average inhabitant of Flaxborough by Solid provincial policeman Inspector Purbright. Watson’s parodic literary skills are as sharp for both. Personally, I enjoyed the small town satire more but I’m not a great one for James Bond.
January 16, 2026
This book is a delight to those who love good English prose with humour and a half decent plot. Watson was a jounalist in the Lincolnshire town of Gainsborough ( or possibly Boston ) and apparently based The Flaxborough Chronicles, of which this is one, on real people he knew there. His descriptions of the characters are just wonderful. Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love get involved when a secret agent vanishes in strange circumstances and there is an acid bath involved. I sometimes think I could write a book - until I read Watson. Just Marvelous !!!
July 12, 2021
This is the third book in the Flaxborough series that I have read, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous two. I found it hard to engage with the story and the sub-plot involving the bumbling government agents, which I assume was intended as a pastiche of a James Bond spy novel, was clumsy and unconvincing.
September 17, 2024
a great story.
Perhaps my favorite of all this series. The ‘spooks’ are hilarious. But good old Purbright carries it through to a successful conclusion. It’s a great episode in the TV series: Murder Most English also.
Perhaps my favorite of all this series. The ‘spooks’ are hilarious. But good old Purbright carries it through to a successful conclusion. It’s a great episode in the TV series: Murder Most English also.
September 14, 2016
Entertaining. I'll get the next one.
July 15, 2023
I’m baffled as to the reason this series isn’t much more popular than it seems to be. I only heard of it a few years ago, in the pages of Christopher Fowler’s The Book of Forgotten Authors. Fowler’s name should be bandied about with the best mystery authors of the 20th century.
I only wish the books were more audio friendly. It’s not that the reader doesn’t do a good job. It’s that the writing is so good that if you’re not paying careful attention to every word, you’ll either a) miss the excellent touches of humor, or b) have not a clue what is going on with the plot.
B was my problem with this one. When I finished listening the first time, I immediately started over from the beginning, focusing hard to catch the important details. I wouldn’t make it through many books at all if I was reading them from a page or a screen, so I’d rather have audio versions than never have read any books in this series. But I believe I’d love this series even more if I was consuming it via print.
This book was first published in 1962, but if you didn’t know that, you’d swear it was a much more recent novel, and simply set in 1962. The humor is of a much different stripe than you’ll find in most mysteries of the era. Think of a slightly jaded P. G. Wodehouse with a lot more references to sex, and you’ve got the gist.
What I found most fascinating is that this was both a mystery novel and a spy novel (more accurately, a spoof of a spy novel), since the victim (once it had finally been agreed that there must be a victim, even though there’s no body) was a secret agent of unknown stripe. Hopjoy must be one of the least secret secret agents in literature, because he disclosed his status as a government operative frequently as leverage to dodge his creditors.
Since the allegedly dead man was a spy, two other spies show up to “help” the investigation. They disagree with the local police on what the focus of the investigation should be. Imagine those silly provincial policemen, actually trying to figure out who murdered Hopjoy, when what really matters is whether any super secret spy stuff is floating around town. So the cops are examining forensic clues (with every iota of science available to 1962 coppers), and the spies are visiting shady barbers to get phantom haircuts, and committing adultery with frustrated housewives who had also sought carnal knowledge of Hopjoy.
It was all over far too soon, and I wasn’t ready to leave the sleazy town of Flaxborough. Worse, only the first 3 Flaxborough books are available in audio. I have the remainder of the series as ebooks, but who’s going to provide the luxury cabin on a lake in the Upper Peninsula, travel, catering, and a month of vacation so I have the time and inclination to sit down and read them?
April 29, 2018
This is the second Flaxborough mystery I’ve read and it lived up to my expectations. This is a great English whodunit. There are clues here and there but the twists and turns kept coming and made me rethink things to try to solve the mystery. As with the other book I read, the crime was very unique and involved. It’s hard to believe that the local police will be able to figure it out. But they have some government spooks to help them this time. One of them was a pompous jerk. I was hoping he’d be humiliated by the local police. The spooks definitely look at things from a different perspective. Mr. Chubb is worried that they will “underestimate our people” in their ability to commit crime.
The is a lot of wry, witty, satirical humor as well as vivid descriptions and personification. It’s a lot of fun to read. One woman is described as “a desiccated woman with a cruel, helmet-like perm” (location 59). Purbright says matter-of-factly, “Murdering people, Mr. Warlock, must be a somewhat distracting business. Even the most conscientious practitioner probably tends to overlook things” (location 282).
It’s helpful to read this book on a Kindle where you have an instant dictionary as there are many unfamiliar words (i.e., monody, insouciance, mendacity). There are some long run-on sentences that make it harder to listen to it aloud and still be able to follow the meaning. But it’s a great read. I’d recommend it.
Thank you to Farrago for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Flaxborough Mysteries
Book 1: Coffin Scarcely Used
Book 2: Bump in the Night
Book 3: Hopjoy Was Here
Book 4: Lonely-Heart 4122
Book 5: Charity Ends at Home
Book 6: The Flaxborough Crab
Book 7: Broomsticks Over Flaxborough
Book 8: The Naked Nuns
Book 9: One Man’s Meat
Book 10: Blue Murder
Book 11: Plaster Sinners
Book 12: Whatever’s Been Going On At Mumblesby
The is a lot of wry, witty, satirical humor as well as vivid descriptions and personification. It’s a lot of fun to read. One woman is described as “a desiccated woman with a cruel, helmet-like perm” (location 59). Purbright says matter-of-factly, “Murdering people, Mr. Warlock, must be a somewhat distracting business. Even the most conscientious practitioner probably tends to overlook things” (location 282).
It’s helpful to read this book on a Kindle where you have an instant dictionary as there are many unfamiliar words (i.e., monody, insouciance, mendacity). There are some long run-on sentences that make it harder to listen to it aloud and still be able to follow the meaning. But it’s a great read. I’d recommend it.
Thank you to Farrago for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Flaxborough Mysteries
Book 1: Coffin Scarcely Used
Book 2: Bump in the Night
Book 3: Hopjoy Was Here
Book 4: Lonely-Heart 4122
Book 5: Charity Ends at Home
Book 6: The Flaxborough Crab
Book 7: Broomsticks Over Flaxborough
Book 8: The Naked Nuns
Book 9: One Man’s Meat
Book 10: Blue Murder
Book 11: Plaster Sinners
Book 12: Whatever’s Been Going On At Mumblesby
July 24, 2018
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Hopjoy Was Here is the third in the Flaxborough Chronicles and another winner in Colin Watson's classic English crime procedural. Like the other books in the series, this entry sees Inspector Purbright on the hunt for a potential murderer. It's not immediately clear if there has been a murder, so Purbright & co. have to figure out what has happened and to whom. The author's incredibly dry humor and sense for the absurd is spot on and this book is really funny albeit macabre (see cover for this edition) in places.
This re-release, out 22 March, 2018 from Farrago is 160 pages. Originally published in 1962, this reformat and re-release is available in ebook and paperback formats. The plot is convoluted (in a good way) and the humor is wry and subtly sharp. For having been written over 50 years ago, it has aged very well and doesn't seem very dated at all in my opinion.
Colin Watson was a really masterful and precise author who wrote very enjoyable humorous books. This is one of them and well worth picking up.
Four stars, I liked it very much!
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
Hopjoy Was Here is the third in the Flaxborough Chronicles and another winner in Colin Watson's classic English crime procedural. Like the other books in the series, this entry sees Inspector Purbright on the hunt for a potential murderer. It's not immediately clear if there has been a murder, so Purbright & co. have to figure out what has happened and to whom. The author's incredibly dry humor and sense for the absurd is spot on and this book is really funny albeit macabre (see cover for this edition) in places.
This re-release, out 22 March, 2018 from Farrago is 160 pages. Originally published in 1962, this reformat and re-release is available in ebook and paperback formats. The plot is convoluted (in a good way) and the humor is wry and subtly sharp. For having been written over 50 years ago, it has aged very well and doesn't seem very dated at all in my opinion.
Colin Watson was a really masterful and precise author who wrote very enjoyable humorous books. This is one of them and well worth picking up.
Four stars, I liked it very much!
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
October 21, 2021
Inspector Purbright’s latest case in Flaxborough involves a missing gentleman… but he’s not sure who. Gordon Periam and his lodger Brian Hopjoy have been living together happily until one evening the neighbors hear a terrible fight. The next day, the police are removing heaven knows what from the bathtub drain. They believe it’s the acid-dissolved remains of one of the housemates, but as neither of them are there, they don’t know whose they are. This begins an investigation that also brings in some government officials. It seems that Hopjoy was some kind of secret agent. Was he found out, and that’s why he was killed? Or is he even the one that’s been killed? Or has ANYONE actually been killed? These are the questions Inspector Purbright must answer.
Another decent entry in the Flaxborough mysteries. As ever, the writing is quite witty. However, it is also rather slow at times, as in other books. The mystery was really good, though, with lots of twists, turns, and red herrings that keep you guessing right up until the last few pages. I still very much enjoy Inspector Purbright and Sargeant Love. I did not at all care for the government agents. Overall, though, a quick read and good fit for the series. I liked it much more than the last one I read. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.
Another decent entry in the Flaxborough mysteries. As ever, the writing is quite witty. However, it is also rather slow at times, as in other books. The mystery was really good, though, with lots of twists, turns, and red herrings that keep you guessing right up until the last few pages. I still very much enjoy Inspector Purbright and Sargeant Love. I did not at all care for the government agents. Overall, though, a quick read and good fit for the series. I liked it much more than the last one I read. Thanks to NetGalley for the free ebook.
June 22, 2017
Within an intricate plotline, bolstered by politely subversive narration and idiosyncratic characterization which at times likens eyes to hermit crabs and hands to delicate white potato shoots, Watson presents as much a howdunit as a whodunit. For the entirety of the book, the readers are led by the hand along a garden path, as are, indeed, the police. Who was given a sulfuric acid bath in the house mentioned in the anonymous letter received by the Flaxborough police? Was anybody? Inspector Purbright’s investigation is diverted now and then through the intervention of two road show spy-boys, colleagues of the titular Hopjoy, who must see absolutely everything through the filter of their clandestine professions, though it’s a filter that never manages to given them a true view of anything. Purbright does not come to the final solution of the mystery through brilliant deductions, but through polite and persistent questioning of people and facts, a central core of decency lacking in others, and a lack of concern for position and station. A wonderfully told story, laced with caustic wit and understated English values.
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