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Chief Inspector Littlejohn #12
Death on the Last Train
First published in 1948, Death on the Last Train is a Chief Inspector Littlejohn mystery full of false leads, dead ends and old-fashioned charm.
Detective Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is travelling to an assignment, exhausted after an arduous journey of delayed connections, when he catches the last train. A murder occurs in his carriage, putting on hold any other plans he may have had. The local police, out of their depth, commandeer the detective to help them solve the case.
Delving into unrequited love, betrayal, and poison pen letters, Littlejohn must pick apart a tangle of grudges. Many men and women seem primed with motives, but which of them has it in them to kill?
Detective Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is travelling to an assignment, exhausted after an arduous journey of delayed connections, when he catches the last train. A murder occurs in his carriage, putting on hold any other plans he may have had. The local police, out of their depth, commandeer the detective to help them solve the case.
Delving into unrequited love, betrayal, and poison pen letters, Littlejohn must pick apart a tangle of grudges. Many men and women seem primed with motives, but which of them has it in them to kill?
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1948
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81 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 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 1, 2018
Death on the Last Train ranks among one of my favorite of George Bellairs’ novels. Due to serendipity, Detective-Inspector Thomas Littlejohn is right on the spot when Timothy Bellis is murdered on the 10:41, the last train of the evening. Soon joined by his trusty Sergeant Robert Cromwell, Littlejohn looks into the death of a man who is hated by most in his fellows. Bellis was head of the Salton Building Society when it crashed, and the customers blame and hate Bellis for it. But Littleton thinks the answer to the murder lies closer to home.
As in real life, Littlejohn goes down a few false trails before finally sussing out the true murderer. Bellairs keeps the plot suspenseful right to the very last page. Highly recommended.
As in real life, Littlejohn goes down a few false trails before finally sussing out the true murderer. Bellairs keeps the plot suspenseful right to the very last page. Highly recommended.
September 11, 2019
After big case all Inp Littlejohn wants to do is catch his train go home, smoke his pipe have his glass of beer with Steak n kidney pie.
But what's that pop!
Murder , oh ###t no reast for the wicket.
But what's that pop!
Murder , oh ###t no reast for the wicket.
March 21, 2022
This has to be one of my favourites in the series and keeps you guessing until the end. Well worth a read.
December 26, 2019
2 1/2 stars. I didn't like this as much as most of the series. There are a lot of miserable people who live nasty little lives that poison others. In some ways that seems more evil than murder. It is missing some of the humor of the other books.
February 4, 2024
Very evocative of post WW2 Britain and a great police procedural. (The 1940s language could have been edited out without any harm to the plot.)
January 4, 2023
I don't think that this was one of GB' s better plots but it was be beautifully written as always with the witty character descriptions of the protagonists. Also the dreary town where it was set was very cleverly evoked.
August 30, 2020
I enjoyed the story itself, but the sometimes racist and misogynistic language left a bad taste...
March 26, 2022
It has been a while since I read any Bellairs. This Inspector Littlejohn, first issued in 1948, does not rank among his best.
It has not aged well, as some of the language used is now offensive and many of the attitudes, especially towards women are dated and unpleasant.
Most of the characters are gross caricatures and this time I found them unfunny. If no one but Littlejohn and Cromwell is portrayed as ordinary then the farce/humour/satire loses its sharpness and point. The author continues his guying of nonconformist Christians- there are two sects in this one- but also gives short shrift to a couple of Anglican clergymen.
The best parts were in the descriptions of life in immediate-post-WW2 Britain, the shabby decay of a once prosperous town and a provincial amateur concert.
The investigation into the murder of a nasty decaying Lothario is low- key and rather desultory with a somewhat downbeat and unsatisfying solution.
3.25 stars.
It has not aged well, as some of the language used is now offensive and many of the attitudes, especially towards women are dated and unpleasant.
Most of the characters are gross caricatures and this time I found them unfunny. If no one but Littlejohn and Cromwell is portrayed as ordinary then the farce/humour/satire loses its sharpness and point. The author continues his guying of nonconformist Christians- there are two sects in this one- but also gives short shrift to a couple of Anglican clergymen.
The best parts were in the descriptions of life in immediate-post-WW2 Britain, the shabby decay of a once prosperous town and a provincial amateur concert.
The investigation into the murder of a nasty decaying Lothario is low- key and rather desultory with a somewhat downbeat and unsatisfying solution.
3.25 stars.
June 26, 2020
Another quick Inspector Littlejohn police procedural. This time Littlejohn is actually on the train when someone commits suicide or - as we soon find out - was murdered. The local police take advantage of a Scotland Yard man being on the scene and away we go. Joined by his sidekick Cromwell, Littlejohn starts looking into the life of the victim Bellis. Soon we discover that he was hated by just about everyone: those who blamed him for the Building Society collapse, those who blame him for his wife's death, those who think he's immoral. Littlejohn plows through the stories and lies until nothing is left but the truth.
A fine procedural, although it seems to be missing Bellairs' great ability to set the scene, describe a specific time and place. But good suspense and twists.
A fine procedural, although it seems to be missing Bellairs' great ability to set the scene, describe a specific time and place. But good suspense and twists.
May 10, 2025
How did I ever miss this author? This was the first I had read of his. The story is fast packed and full of humorous incidents and outrageous calamities; in the manner of Manning Coles. Especially enjoyable is the chapter-long account of a concert, having little to do with the plot but a lot of fun as one of the characters, Lambert Hiss, solos on the trombone. I set out to locate more of his stories - found a nice collection for the Kindle in the 99 cent bin on Amazon!
April 16, 2023
The strong point of this series is how the author has made his detective feel like an average Joe. The plots can get a bit plodding and are never exciting but Little John always prevails in the end.
This one had some annoying characters and the beginning, where the murder took place felt kind of choppy and rushed but it did settled down.
This one had some annoying characters and the beginning, where the murder took place felt kind of choppy and rushed but it did settled down.
November 27, 2018
Early Bird Book Deal | Reasonably good, pretty standard for the author | Nothing too terribly exciting in this one, a few good red herrings and a twist that was only broadcast by the number of pages remaining in the book.
April 9, 2021
Littlejohn is on the train where a dead body is discovered. He stops and helps them figure out what happened.
I usually like George Bellairs' novels, but this is not that great. Also has some old, non-politically correct ideas mentioned.
I usually like George Bellairs' novels, but this is not that great. Also has some old, non-politically correct ideas mentioned.
June 16, 2023
A sordid little murder in a sordid little, failing port town full of awful, ugly people. Bellairs must have been in a bad mood when he wrote this one. He’s usually gently good humored but this just piles on the unpleasantness. Also everyone is always shouting…..
October 3, 2024
For a lot of people these appears to be a favourite Littlejohn case, but it isn’t mine by a long way. It missed one of Bellairs’s strengths- a real sense of location. Still he’s always a good read and the characters are strong. Cromwell is splendid too.
November 22, 2018
Very good classic mystery
Littlejohn investigates a murder that takes place in a closed train compartment occupied by only one passenger. It was interesting.
Littlejohn investigates a murder that takes place in a closed train compartment occupied by only one passenger. It was interesting.
April 20, 2020
Another quick read. Good mystery writing.
April 7, 2021
Got almost halfway through, realised I couldn't care less about a single character, dead or alive.
May 13, 2022
Excellent!
May 5, 2024
Heavy going but think that was just the “old writing”
June 11, 2024
Low-rent romance ends in death and Inspector Littlejohn is pulled into the investigation.
Romance novels not-withstanding, romantic love isn't limited to the young, attractive, and wealthy. Romantic yearnings and the jealousy and hatred they cause are just as common among those whose pictures will never grace the front of a book called "Falling for the Billionaire Boss." Come to think of it, is it really "love" if the woman has to look like a super model and the man has to be a billionaire?
Metropolitan Police Inspector Littlejohn is on one of those assignments all cops hate. He's been sent to the hinterlands to attend the trial of a criminal he once investigated. The village can only be reached by way of a slow, uncomfortable train with frequent stops. A long, miserable journey, all the while knowing that it may be for naught since the trial may be delayed or settled before he arrives. As two famous playwrights observed, a policeman's lot is not a happy one.
WWII has been over for three years, but Europe is still in shambles. Infrastructure (such as trains) which were neglected during the war are still neglected, with no money or manpower to repair or replace them. Hardships which were accepted during the war are hard to stomach now, but there's no choice.
Just when Inspector Littlejohn sees the light at the end of the tunnel, a train conductor finds a stiff and the local cops are thrilled to have London's assistance so quickly. The death looks like a suicide, but what about those threatening letters the dead man's been receiving? Timothy Bellis had enemies. Did one of them finally finish him off?
Bellis has come down in the world. Born into a wealthy family, he was once prosperous. Now he's a bitter, ageing man with one loyal servant and a devoted mistress. He's believed to have profitted by shady deals that left others penniless. His wife was a lovely girl with many admirers, but she picked Bellis to marry. He made her miserable and some of her lovers haven't forgotten it.
Terrified by the vicious threats in the anonymous letters, he ventures out of his house only to visit his long-time mistress Bessie Emmott. Bessie's a portly former barmaid who's scorned by most people, but everyone agrees that she's crushed by the death of the man who set her up as a small shop owner. Not exactly Romeo and Juliet, but there was love and trust between them. So who shot Bellis and how did he/she do so without being seen entering or leaving the three-car train?
Inspector Littlejohn and Sergeant Cromwell are soon involved in a surprisingly complex case with some wonderfully strange characters. Some are disreputable, like the sodden Harold Claypott. He's the town drunk and an object of ridicule, but his elderly sisters still love and protect him. And Harold's alcoholism started with loving a beautiful girl and being rejected by her.
Bessie Emmott is no one's idea of a femme fatale, but she was a pretty, lively girl in her day and there are men who haven't forgotten it. Between all these ageing lovers and the dead man's business enemies, it seems like the suspects out-number those with no motive. Kind-hearted Inspector Littlejohn doesn't want to arrest any of them, but solving murders is his job and he can't neglect it.
If you're interested only in crimes among the rich and glamorous, this isn't the book for you. This author was a small town bank manager and he must have heard many sad cases of love gone awry. He created a detective who treats everyone he meets as an equal. He hates cruelty, greed, arrogance, and all the other vices, but he also knows that many crimes aren't committed by cold-blooded monsters, but by people who love "not wisely, but too well."
I admire this author for his fascination with the details of his characters' lives, his humor, and his gentle acceptance of human frailty. His books are above-average and Inspector Littlejohn is one of my favorite fictional characters.
Romance novels not-withstanding, romantic love isn't limited to the young, attractive, and wealthy. Romantic yearnings and the jealousy and hatred they cause are just as common among those whose pictures will never grace the front of a book called "Falling for the Billionaire Boss." Come to think of it, is it really "love" if the woman has to look like a super model and the man has to be a billionaire?
Metropolitan Police Inspector Littlejohn is on one of those assignments all cops hate. He's been sent to the hinterlands to attend the trial of a criminal he once investigated. The village can only be reached by way of a slow, uncomfortable train with frequent stops. A long, miserable journey, all the while knowing that it may be for naught since the trial may be delayed or settled before he arrives. As two famous playwrights observed, a policeman's lot is not a happy one.
WWII has been over for three years, but Europe is still in shambles. Infrastructure (such as trains) which were neglected during the war are still neglected, with no money or manpower to repair or replace them. Hardships which were accepted during the war are hard to stomach now, but there's no choice.
Just when Inspector Littlejohn sees the light at the end of the tunnel, a train conductor finds a stiff and the local cops are thrilled to have London's assistance so quickly. The death looks like a suicide, but what about those threatening letters the dead man's been receiving? Timothy Bellis had enemies. Did one of them finally finish him off?
Bellis has come down in the world. Born into a wealthy family, he was once prosperous. Now he's a bitter, ageing man with one loyal servant and a devoted mistress. He's believed to have profitted by shady deals that left others penniless. His wife was a lovely girl with many admirers, but she picked Bellis to marry. He made her miserable and some of her lovers haven't forgotten it.
Terrified by the vicious threats in the anonymous letters, he ventures out of his house only to visit his long-time mistress Bessie Emmott. Bessie's a portly former barmaid who's scorned by most people, but everyone agrees that she's crushed by the death of the man who set her up as a small shop owner. Not exactly Romeo and Juliet, but there was love and trust between them. So who shot Bellis and how did he/she do so without being seen entering or leaving the three-car train?
Inspector Littlejohn and Sergeant Cromwell are soon involved in a surprisingly complex case with some wonderfully strange characters. Some are disreputable, like the sodden Harold Claypott. He's the town drunk and an object of ridicule, but his elderly sisters still love and protect him. And Harold's alcoholism started with loving a beautiful girl and being rejected by her.
Bessie Emmott is no one's idea of a femme fatale, but she was a pretty, lively girl in her day and there are men who haven't forgotten it. Between all these ageing lovers and the dead man's business enemies, it seems like the suspects out-number those with no motive. Kind-hearted Inspector Littlejohn doesn't want to arrest any of them, but solving murders is his job and he can't neglect it.
If you're interested only in crimes among the rich and glamorous, this isn't the book for you. This author was a small town bank manager and he must have heard many sad cases of love gone awry. He created a detective who treats everyone he meets as an equal. He hates cruelty, greed, arrogance, and all the other vices, but he also knows that many crimes aren't committed by cold-blooded monsters, but by people who love "not wisely, but too well."
I admire this author for his fascination with the details of his characters' lives, his humor, and his gentle acceptance of human frailty. His books are above-average and Inspector Littlejohn is one of my favorite fictional characters.
July 24, 2012
A long train trip across post-war England ends in death, and Inspector Littlejohn is on the scene. Local police beg him to stay and find out why Timothy Bellis shot himself. The man had been tormented by anonymous letters since his wife died, and the police had been unable to stop them. But when the medical examiner finds that Bellis was murdered, the situation looks quite different. Littlejohn finds this the most unpleasant case he's ever investigated, but there are bright notes.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews