Colin Watson
1958
4/5 stars
When the owner of the local newspaper is found electrocuted, Inspector Purbright suspects murder rather than suicide. As the bodies pile up, Purbright puts his lens to the most upright of the male members of Flaxborough society, and finds vice worth killing over.
The blurb refers to Watson as "arguably the best of comic crime writers". While he has an understated humor that shines out occasionally, this book at least was not the work of a comic genius. (It was not even in the same class as the hilarious mysteries by the American sisters, Constance and Gwyneth Little.) Watson does, however, have an excellent turn of phrase and paints an often absurd, but always vivid picture of this respectable seaside town. The plot was mostly credible, but the murder method was overly complicated and somewhat ridiculous; why that method was necessary was never explained. Despite that, this is an intelligent and interesting mystery that starts slow, but finishes strong.
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