‘I’m a spiv… But whatever I’ve done, I never killed anybody. I didn’t do it… I swear I didn’t’

It’s a rainy, uneventful evening in the Oddfellows’ Arms until a greasy-looking spiv bursts into the pub, clearly unstable, and ranting about a body in Fennings’ Mill.

The police investigate the mad-man’s tale, and stumble upon a body, the face smeared with theatrical make-up and a false moustache pasted neatly over the lip. Once the national news descends, Inspector Faddiman calls in Inspector Littlejohn to help him uncover the dark, hidden secrets in this quiet, provincial town. Soon it becomes clear that a lot of people can’t, and won’t tell the truth… Again the author of The Case of the Famished Parson supplies his many fans with all the ingredients for a session of pleasure and puzzlement.

Reviews

'One of the subtlest and wittiest practitioners of the simon-pure British detective story” - The New York Times

'Mr Bellairs always gives good value” - The Sunday Times

‘Pure British detective story’ – The New York Times