Chief Inspector Littlejohn Series by George Bellairs

The eponymous nosy parker in Death of a Busybody is Miss Ethel Tither. She has made herself deeply unpopular in the quintessentially English village of Hilary Magna, since she goes out of her way to snoop on people, and interfere with their lives. On being introduced to her, the seasoned reader of detective stories will spot a murder victim in the making. Sure enough, by the end of chapter one, this unpleasant lady has met an extremely unpleasant fate... moreThe eponymous nosy parker in Death of a Busybody is Miss Ethel Tither. She has made herself deeply unpopular in the quintessentially English village of Hilary Magna, since she goes out of her way to snoop on people, and interfere with their lives. On being introduced to her, the seasoned reader of detective stories will spot a murder victim in the making. Sure enough, by the end of chapter one, this unpleasant lady has met an extremely unpleasant fate. She is found floating in a cesspool, having been bludgeoned prior to drowning in the drainage water. This is, in every way, a murky business; realising that they are out of their depth, the local police quickly call in the Yard. Inspector Thomas Littlejohn, George Bellairs' series detective, arrives on the train, and in casting around for suspects, he finds that he is spoiled for choice. The amiable vicar supplies him with a map showing the scene of the crime; maps were a popular feature of traditional whodunnits for many years, and Bellairs occasionally included them in his books, as he does here. less

Nathaniel Wall, the local quack doctor, is found hanging in his consulting room in the Norfolk village of Stalden, but this was not a suicide.Against the backdrop of a close-knit country village, an intriguing story of ambition, blackmail, fraud, false alibis and botanical trickery unravels.

A body in a trunk draws Thomas Littlejohn of Scotland Yard to a peculiar English village On a cobblestoned street almost too quaint to be believed, two antique dealers named Grossman and Small have set up shop. Grossman is short and meek, while Small is large and brutish, but their partnership seems happy enough until the day when old Miss Adlestrop purchases the large oak chest in the window and finds Mr. Grossman stuffed inside it—stone dead... moreA body in a trunk draws Thomas Littlejohn of Scotland Yard to a peculiar English village On a cobblestoned street almost too quaint to be believed, two antique dealers named Grossman and Small have set up shop. Grossman is short and meek, while Small is large and brutish, but their partnership seems happy enough until the day when old Miss Adlestrop purchases the large oak chest in the window and finds Mr. Grossman stuffed inside it—stone dead. The cozy English hamlet is thrown into an uproar, overwhelming the local constabulary and requiring the services of Detective-Inspector Thomas Littlejohn. Cool-headed and never in a hurry, Littlejohn has solved his fair share of village murder cases. But when the key to the fatal chest goes missing, Littlejohn discovers the community to be so infested with jealousies and secrets that he begins to envy the dead man. less

To solve a murder case, Thomas Littlejohn contends with ghosts, Nazis, and crooked real estate speculators.Known across London as one of the premier slumlords of the East End, Solomon Burt has never fallen in love with a property the way he has with Harwood, a faded manor house halfway between London and the sea. When the owner refuses to sell, Burt uses every trick he knows to buy the house out from under the man and convert it into apartments... moreTo solve a murder case, Thomas Littlejohn contends with ghosts, Nazis, and crooked real estate speculators.Known across London as one of the premier slumlords of the East End, Solomon Burt has never fallen in love with a property the way he has with Harwood, a faded manor house halfway between London and the sea. When the owner refuses to sell, Burt uses every trick he knows to buy the house out from under the man and convert it into apartments. Now Burt owns the property lock, stock, and barrel—but he will have to share it with the ghosts.When Burt is found murdered, the tenants fear a ghost might be responsible. Detective-Inspector Littlejohn is called down from London to solve the case and restore reason. But what he find lurking in the back corners of Harwood is far more dangerous than a poltergeist. less

At the height of World War II, Thomas Littlejohn investigates a factory boss’s murder Once, Henry Worth’s sprawling factory was filled with looms and textile workers, but since the onset of World War II, the space has been given over entirely to military production. Worth is walking the grounds late one night when he smells gas coming from an unused shed. When he enters to investigate, the door slams and locks behind him. He is dead in minutes... moreAt the height of World War II, Thomas Littlejohn investigates a factory boss’s murder Once, Henry Worth’s sprawling factory was filled with looms and textile workers, but since the onset of World War II, the space has been given over entirely to military production. Worth is walking the grounds late one night when he smells gas coming from an unused shed. When he enters to investigate, the door slams and locks behind him. He is dead in minutes. Detective-Inspector Littlejohn is called down from London to investigate the murder and finds the entire town upended by the question of Worth’s inheritance. Three children and a wife are feuding over the man’s fortune, and they are not afraid to kill to get their share. As British troops fight and die overseas, Littlejohn finds that the fiercest battlefield of all may be on the home front. less

The Mayor of the popular resort of Westcombe, Sir Gideon Ware, is no stranger to making enemies. What was once a quaint little harbour is now miles of level, concrete promenade, and acres of pleasure-beach, embracing every kind of device for human entertainment and sensation. Sir Gideon Ware has put Westcombe on the map through bribes, intimidation and threats. When Ware drops dead in the middle of his annual lunch, no one is surprised to hear that murder is suspected... moreThe Mayor of the popular resort of Westcombe, Sir Gideon Ware, is no stranger to making enemies. What was once a quaint little harbour is now miles of level, concrete promenade, and acres of pleasure-beach, embracing every kind of device for human entertainment and sensation. Sir Gideon Ware has put Westcombe on the map through bribes, intimidation and threats. When Ware drops dead in the middle of his annual lunch, no one is surprised to hear that murder is suspected. But with so many enemies surrounding Ware, Inspector Littlejohn has his work cut out shifting through Ware’s past to find the likely killer. Especially with the Chief Constable so keen on covering up vital facts in the investigation. It becomes clear that Ware was poisoned. But everyone else ate and drank the same things, and no one appeared to have been near enough to Ware to have done the deed. Before Littlejohn can get to the bottom of it, a second murder is committed… Can he crack the case before more lives are put in jeopardy? Or will the long list of suspects help the killer to get away with it…? ‘He’d Rather Be Dead’ is a classic detective mystery by one of the masters of the genre. less

Intrigue and murder surround the county fair at Stainton-Meredith. Many people had reason to dislike Canon Nicodemus Hartley-Crump, the elderly, autocratic and lubricious vicar of the parish, but who would kill him? And what, if any, was the connection with his death and the murder by strangulation of an Austrian refugee, governess to some of the local nouveaux riches?A story as much of how Constable Sadd got his sergeant's stripes as how Inspector Littlejohn found the murderer.

Thomas Littlejohn investigates a murder committed by the glow of a lighthouse The waterfront pub is closing up and the sailors are staggering home. World War II means a blackout in the English port town of Werrymouth, but the locals have no trouble finding their way over the Halfpenny Bridge, where a small toll shaves a mile off their drunken walk. A group of them are about to cross when a ship comes into the channel, and the lighthouse snaps on to guide its way... moreThomas Littlejohn investigates a murder committed by the glow of a lighthouse The waterfront pub is closing up and the sailors are staggering home. World War II means a blackout in the English port town of Werrymouth, but the locals have no trouble finding their way over the Halfpenny Bridge, where a small toll shaves a mile off their drunken walk. A group of them are about to cross when a ship comes into the channel, and the lighthouse snaps on to guide its way. As the beams rake across the harbor, the sailors see two men struggling by the shore. One overpowers the other, killing him in the surf. The murderer escapes, and Detective-Inspector Littlejohn ventures down from London to find him. Two more murders follow, bringing this center of shipping to a halt just when England needs it most. less

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... moreFirst 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? less

In Melchester, Thomas Littlejohn hunts the killer of a strangled poet The war is over and blackouts are a thing of the past, except in the village of Melchester, where the local council has refused to sully its streets with unsightly lamps. The night is pitch black, but hardly quiet. Young lovers are rendezvousing, a police constable is helping himself to a few of his neighbor’s partridges, and a poet is going to visit his beloved, a new verse on his lips... moreIn Melchester, Thomas Littlejohn hunts the killer of a strangled poet The war is over and blackouts are a thing of the past, except in the village of Melchester, where the local council has refused to sully its streets with unsightly lamps. The night is pitch black, but hardly quiet. Young lovers are rendezvousing, a police constable is helping himself to a few of his neighbor’s partridges, and a poet is going to visit his beloved, a new verse on his lips. She will never hear it, sadly, for the young man is stopped along his way—stopped forever, by the tight grip of the garrote. The local constabulary wastes no time reaching out to Scotland Yard, which sends its best man: the easygoing detective-inspector Littlejohn. In Melchester he will find unspeakable secrets—and one citizen whose soul is as dark as the village night. less

‘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... more‘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. less

Dr James Macintosh, the Bishop of Greyle, is a mysterious man; for a long time, nobody even seems to know his last name... moreDr James Macintosh, the Bishop of Greyle, is a mysterious man; for a long time, nobody even seems to know his last name. But things suddenly take a turn for the worse when his body is found completely emaciated and battered having being pushed face-first off the edge of a cliff…Inspector Littlejohn faces an incredibly peculiar case and must figure out how to explain the savage murder of a gentle Bishop? Perhaps he know too much about the secretive citizens of Cape Marvin, the seaside resort and the place of his murder. Or did it have something to do with the strange family he had left behind in Medhope?Above all, why was the Bishop’s body so undernourished that death by violence won out by only a few days over death by starvation?The Case of the Famished Parson was first published in 1949.Inspector Thomas Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is a shrewd yet courteous sleuth who splits his time between quaint English villages, the scenic Isle of Man and French Provinces. With a sharp tongue and a dry sense of humour, Littlejohn approaches his work with poise and confidence, shifting through red-herrings and solving even the most perplexing of cases.‘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 less

On New Year’s Eve a string of grisly deaths strike a remote English hamlet For centuries Cobbold-in-the-Marsh has been haunted by the ghost of a Jesuit priest who lost his head rather than deny his faith. Since then, there hasn’t been much bloodshed in this peculiar little village, but all that changes during the icy week just after Christmas. First a policeman is found drowned in the canal, a tragic death that shows signs of foul play... moreOn New Year’s Eve a string of grisly deaths strike a remote English hamlet For centuries Cobbold-in-the-Marsh has been haunted by the ghost of a Jesuit priest who lost his head rather than deny his faith. Since then, there hasn’t been much bloodshed in this peculiar little village, but all that changes during the icy week just after Christmas. First a policeman is found drowned in the canal, a tragic death that shows signs of foul play. Then, as the whole town gathers for midnight mass on New Year’s Eve, the prodigal son of the manor house staggers down the aisle. The congregation thinks he’s drunk—until they notice the blood seeping down his side. Detective-Inspector Thomas Littlejohn and Detective-Sergeant Robert Cromwell are called in from Scotland Yard to oversee the investigation. As they dig into the quirks and secrets of this eerie little enclave, they find that Cobbold is haunted by more than a decapitated priest. less