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Murder Makes Mistakes (1958)

by George Bellairs

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261935,359 (3.79)4
Fiction. Mystery. Short Stories. HTML:

A trio of detective novels in one collection, from three British masters of mystery.

This volume showcasing classic whodunits includes:

Police at the Funeral
The tranquility of Cambridge is punctured when a member of the illustrious Faraday family disappears. No time is wasted in summoning Albert Campion to investigate—but when he arrives he's greeted by a band of eccentric relatives all at daggers with each other. Soon there are as many dead bodies as red herrings, and Campion must uncover the secrets of the Faraday dynasty before another victim falls . . .

"My very favourite of the four Queens of crime is Allingham." —J.K. Rowling

Murder Makes Mistakes
The many admirers of Sergeant Cromwell, faithful assistant and friend to Superintendent Littlejohn, are dismayed to learn that as he attended his uncle's funeral in the pretty Cheshire village of Rushton Inferior, he was shot through the head. Unsure whether this was an accident or attempted murder, Littlejohn casts all other tasks aside and hurries north to investigate . . .

"[A] pure British detective story." —The New York Times

Buried for Pleasure
In the sleepy village of Sanford Angelorum, professor and amateur detective Gervase Fen is taking a break from his books to run for parliament. The village he's come to canvass appears perfectly peaceful, but Fen soon discovers that someone in the village has discovered a dark secret and is using it for blackmail. Anyone who comes close to uncovering the blackmailer's identity is swiftly dispatched. As the joys of politics wear off, Fen sets his mind to the mystery but is caught up in a tangled tale of eccentric psychiatrists, escaped lunatics, beautiful women, and lost heirs . . .

"The master of the whodunnit." —The New York Times

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» See also 4 mentions

I enjoyed this book. It's a treat for me to follow Superintendent Tom Littlejohn as he investigates crime in rural England in the post WW2 years. In this case, he is without his longtime assistant Sgt. Cromwell who is in hospital recovering from a gunshot to the head. He's in for a long recuperation, but will live to carry on his police career.

Littlejohn is called to a town in Cheshire where Cromwell has been shot. His assignment there is to find the shooter. Along the way to that discovery however, he is presented with two suspicious deaths. Both of them later are found to be murders by poisoning.

Bellairs does a good job of portraying the English countryside. He creates interesting characters who fit in well with the rural locales he so aptly describes. He captures their way of life with plenty of local colour.
In this case, there's the villainous Cank and the manhunting Mrs. Groves to name two of his townspeople.

Recommended reading for Littlejohn fans and for those new to the series. This is one of a long-running series, but can be read as a standalone. ( )
  BrianEWilliams | Dec 29, 2023 |
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Fiction. Mystery. Short Stories. HTML:

A trio of detective novels in one collection, from three British masters of mystery.

This volume showcasing classic whodunits includes:

Police at the Funeral
The tranquility of Cambridge is punctured when a member of the illustrious Faraday family disappears. No time is wasted in summoning Albert Campion to investigate—but when he arrives he's greeted by a band of eccentric relatives all at daggers with each other. Soon there are as many dead bodies as red herrings, and Campion must uncover the secrets of the Faraday dynasty before another victim falls . . .

"My very favourite of the four Queens of crime is Allingham." —J.K. Rowling

Murder Makes Mistakes
The many admirers of Sergeant Cromwell, faithful assistant and friend to Superintendent Littlejohn, are dismayed to learn that as he attended his uncle's funeral in the pretty Cheshire village of Rushton Inferior, he was shot through the head. Unsure whether this was an accident or attempted murder, Littlejohn casts all other tasks aside and hurries north to investigate . . .

"[A] pure British detective story." —The New York Times

Buried for Pleasure
In the sleepy village of Sanford Angelorum, professor and amateur detective Gervase Fen is taking a break from his books to run for parliament. The village he's come to canvass appears perfectly peaceful, but Fen soon discovers that someone in the village has discovered a dark secret and is using it for blackmail. Anyone who comes close to uncovering the blackmailer's identity is swiftly dispatched. As the joys of politics wear off, Fen sets his mind to the mystery but is caught up in a tangled tale of eccentric psychiatrists, escaped lunatics, beautiful women, and lost heirs . . .

"The master of the whodunnit." —The New York Times

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