George Bellairs – författare

Following a mysterious explosion, the offices of Excelsior Joinery Company are no more; the 3 directors are killed and the peace of a quiet town in Surrey lies in ruins. When the supposed cause of ignited gas leak is dismissed and the presence of dynamite revealed, Superintendent Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is summoned to the scene. But beneath the sleepy veneer of Evingden lies a hotbed of deep-seated grievances. Confounding Littlejohn’s investigation is an impressive cast of suspicious persons, each concealing their own axe to grind.Bellairs’ novel of small-town grudges with calamitous consequences revels in the abundant possible solutions to the central crime as a masterpiece of misdirection.

First published in 1972, this is a Chief Inspector Littlejohn mystery full of secrecy, duplicity and twisted loyalties.The Todds, governed by the widowed matriarch, Mrs Todd, are well-known in Fordinghurst. When Heck, the philandering youngest son, is found murdered on his boat, they do their best to hush up the scandal.With the local constabulary depleted through illness and strained by an epidemic of illegal immigration, Chief Superintendent Littlejohn of Scotland Yard and his new recruit, Hopkinson, are called in to investigate. Faced with a tangle of family jealousy, marital betrayal and racial prejudice, Littlejohn persists, leading to a slew of confessions.

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.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?

First published in 1962, Death Before Breakfast is a Chief Inspector Littlejohn mystery full of intrigue, mysterious motives, and ingenious speculation.On her way to church early one morning, Mrs. Jump sees a dead body in the gutter in July Street. Frightened, she hurries on, but her conscience convinces her to return, only to find the body gone.Doubting herself, she nevertheless tells her boss, Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard, who decides to investigate further. He soon discovers that July Street is full of unusual people. Everyone has a motive. Everyone is a suspect.From London to Paris and back, Littlejohn unravels the tangled web of connections between this curious cast of characters to expose the murderer.

First published in 1973, Devious Murder is a Chief Inspector Littlejohn mystery full of intrigue, tantalising clues and colourful characters.Whilst taking the dog out for the last walk of a rainy day, Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard stumbles across a dead body. Recognising it as Charles Blunt, a thief he crossed paths with and admired many years before, Littlejohn is determined to solve the case. But where did the body come from? What was it doing in front of a deserted house? And why, after all these years, had Charles Blunt finally come to a sticky end?Looking into the life of Blunt drags Littlejohn into the complex love triangles and debauchery of the filthy rich, and all of the scandal that goes with it.