A Little Local Murder

by Robert Barnard

Social infighting in the tiny village of Twythching, just when Radio Broadwich starts to do a documentary on the town, leads to some poison pen letters and a murder, which Inspector George Parrish must investigate. Reprint. IP.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, British Literature

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Aka Bernard Bastable.

Robert Barnard (born 23 November 1936) was an English crime writer, critic and lecturer.

Born in Essex, Barnard was educated at the Royal Grammar School in Colchester and at Balliol College in Oxford. His first crime novel, A Little Local Murder, was published in 1976. The novel was written while he was a lecturer at University of Tromsø in Norway. He has gone on to write more than 40 other books and numerous short stories.

Barnard has said that his favourite crime writer is Agatha Christie. In 1980 he published a critique of her work titled A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie.

Barnard was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2003 by the Crime Writers Association for a lifetime of achievement.

Under the pseudonym Bernard Bastable, Robert Barnard has published one standalone novel and three alternate history books starring Wolfgang Mozart as a detective, he having survived to old age.

Barnard lived with his wife Louise in Yorkshire.

Series:
* Perry Trethowan
* Charlie Peace

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like watching Midsomer Murders, you'll like this--English village with odd name, skulduggery beneath the surface of dull village life, a body in the woods. Some of the intended humour has not aged well (wives as domineering battleaxes, husbands as henpecked milquetoasts, and of course a supposedly hilarious campy gay man). But the plot is well-handled, and this was the kind of light reading I needed this weekend.

[Jack Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. I listened on CD and found it much better than expected. The small town of Twytching is all a-twirl when the county radio station, Radio Broadwich, informs them that the station will be doing one of its profile shows on their town. There's a sister city of the same name in the U.S. and the show will be broadcast there as well. Who will be on the programme? The Mayor's wife, Mrs. Withens who fancies herself as the real power in the community, decides to draw up a list of acceptable personalities to represent Twytching. Then a body is found along a pathway in the nearby woods. I loved local Inspector George Parrish who sets out to solve the murder. Don't be fooled by his disguise as a quiet gentleman with little talent who is just content to tend his garden. Replete with poison pen letters, gossip galore, and a few accents to stump yours truly from the colonies. I'll pick up another Robert Barnard for certain. (March 2018)

[Deb Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's nothing like a village/small town to invite gossip. It doesn't help that everyone knows everyone else, and thus has an opinion (whether grounded in fact or not) about every other inhabitant. The sleepy little village awakens, though, when a radio program is going to feature some of the village's residents for a program about their village.

People who want to be on the program are vying with each other for that right; somewhere along the way malice apparently rears its ugly head in the form of a bludgeoning murder of a village resident.

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Up to almost the very end of Robert Barnard's "A Little Local Murder" I was thinking it was the weakest of his eight novels that I have read. Then the denouement came, and I do not think so any more. One of the most surprising, yet not implausible endings that I remember, and one that adds some gravity to the light satirical tone of the rest of the novel (quite unlike in the same author's "Bodies" reviewed here, where the grim ending is completely incongruous with the tone of the book).

The story happens in mid-1970s in Twytching, a small town in eastern England. Radio Broadwich is planning a documentary on the town to be broadcast in the twin town of Twytching, Wisconsin, U.S. All local personalities are jockeying to be on the show, which allows Mr. Barnard to offer a broad satire on small-town mentality and politics and lampoon the power games that people play. When a murder happens, Inspector Parrish and the tiny Twytching police force eventually manage to solve the case.

Robert Barnard has a unique gift of portraying people at their worst. We are vain, selfish, pompous, scheming, controlling, conceited, duplicitous, pretentious, full of envy, and just plain stupid, and Mr. Barnard illustrates it using his wonderfully acerbic wit and sardonic writing style. Allow me a quote: "[...] asked Jean, idly thinking it would be difficult to select a more thoroughly uninteresting specimen of the local population than Miss Potts, strong though the competition was." Later in the novel, we are told about the joyful anticipation of a husband to have his beloved wife arrested. Fun read! I am looking forward to more Robert Barnard to fill spaces between more serious literary works.

Two and three quarter stars.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not that this is a really, great mystery. It's good, but the better part of the book is the character descriptions - the petty jockeying for position, the jealousies and the nosiness and one-upmanship of all of the people who live in this small British village. But the location does not need to be a British village because similar characters exist in any small microcosm - from an American small town to the offices we all work in. Definitely a fun read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cozy mystery series for me to run through. Very well done.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

As others have commented, this is a very good solid English village mystery.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Radio Broadwich decides to do a documentary on the small village of Twytching for international broadcast, and the townspeople divide between those who seek the patronage of Mrs. Deborah Withins, arbiter of taste and morals, and those determined to displace her in the cutthroat contest for media recognition.

"When a rash of poison-pen letters and a murder coincide, quiet inspector George Parrish begins to uncover secrets the leading citizens of Twytching had thought, and fervently hoped, were buried. A Little Local Murder skillfully demonstrates that no on is more cunning than Robert Barnard in preparing the reader for the totally unexpected. And the incisive character portrayals in this early gem impart a dimension rarely found in English detective fiction."
~~back cover

Certainly the characterization was amazing, and very true to life. Other than that, I found the book somewhat turgid, with the occasional flashes of wry humor.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of his best, but mildly interesting if only for his skill in describing a huge cast of characters and devising a clever answer to the mystery. Amusing for the idea of a radio crew coming to interview members of the community, to be broadcast for their American sister city, and the jockeying for position among the townspeople.


These are the kind of books that I love to reread and see how much of the plot I can remember. Knowing how it's going to end doesn't spoil my enjoyment because Barnard creates such interesting characters, and his dry wit makes me chuckle. Inspector Parrish is one of the most intriguing members of the cast: "For the thousandth time [he] regretted his bachelor status . . . It was an exercise in self-analysis unusual in a common-sensical sort of man, and one that gave him endless food for thought."

[Lisa Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

In A Little Local Murder Barnard presents an amusingly drawn, quirky cast of village nuisances. The small time arbiter of village life has taken on the role of choosing who will and, more importantly, who will not appear on a radio programme about the town. Alas, the producer and an upstart doyenne have other ideas. Throw in a series of posion pen letters and all sorts of innuendo and voila. The book has Barnard's typical needling humor, though some of it leans a bit too heavily on ugly stereotypes, especially in the case of the portrayal of a gay radio producer, which considering the books publication date, 1979, is not entirely surprising. Otherwise, a fun little local murder.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Robert Barnard’s approach to mystery novels. A small English village, Twytching, has been selected to be the focus of a radio documentary—the announcement unleashes excitement in the town as well as a subterranean nastiness that results in murder. Barnard’s narration roves between characters and doesn’t follow a traditional detective story arc—this approach adds a bit of uncertainty to the reader’s experience and ensures that both crime and resolution come as surprises. Along the way the book is filled with dry humor and narrative asides that had me laughing out loud.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This involves a small town about to be interviewed for their cross the pond sister city. There is a bit of hussling to get the civic pride to the fore, and to show the world how nice their town is.
The one person who was guaranteed a spot on the show ends up dead, and it is to be determined whether this is responsible for their death. Not a lot of likeable people to root for here, but an interesting mystery.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The little English village of Twytching is ruled, in her opinion, by Mrs. Withins, but she can't control the radio station that plans to do a documentary on the villagers. When there's a murder, the hidden intelligence of the local police inspector comes to the fore, and he soon sees the link between the murder and a rash of anonymous letters. This is by Barnard, which means it's well-written, but the obnoxious characters kept me from giving it a higher rating.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Barnard takes a typical English village and sets a cat among the pigeons as he tells a story of what a group of people will do to get their fifteen minutes of fame as they fight each other to get a spot on a local radio show.

This is one case where the supposed cream does not rise to the top, rather it curdles the milk as murder and mayhem is stirred up.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across this author because my husband had read his obituary (Robert Barnard died in late September 2013) where he was described as "a master of the English mystery with a comic twist". A very enjoyable book, reminiscent of life in a small English village and with characters reminding me of my own friends and family.

[Jo Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

When one needs to read a mindless mystery and block out the frigid January presence outside the window, Robert Barnard ain't bad. He smears the irony on a bit thick, but at least the writing is literate.

[Jenn Estepp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid English village mystery. I suppose this is what a cozy was, before the influx of punny titles and doilies.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice light read. As always, Barnard has a rather nice twist at the end.

[Neer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real delight.

More over here:

http://inkquilletc.blogspot.in/2013/1...

[Stacielynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

so delighted to have found this series in the used book store. light, easy, appealing, and very well done.

[Jeff Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Barnard poking fun at English village life, hitting as many targets as possible. When the village of Twytching discovers that it's twin in the USA wants it to put together a radio show to give them an insight into the life and characters who live there complete by pertinent music. Radio Broadwich is tasked with putting the show together but who is going to take part? According to a poison pen writer most of the villagers of fornicators and undeserving. Enter Alison Mailer, a snob and self promoter of the highest order, is determined to be on the show come what may. However when Mrs Mailer is found murdered it's opens a can of worms. A good read although not that difficult to work out who the murderer is.

[Maria Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked the humour in this short read. Already looking forward to reading more Robert Barnard.

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Painfully dated. He used to he my favourite mystery writer.
RIP

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love an English Village mystery, and the bitchy character descriptions put this one over the top for me.