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Surfeit of Suspects

George Bellairs,

Martin Edwards (Introduction)

Start date: November 1, 2024

Finish date: November 30, 2024

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Nov 11, 2024 Natalie rated it it was ok

Shelves: classics, mystery-thriller

This mystery concerns the explosion at a joinery company. Three men are killed and there is a strong financial component. While the inspectors, Littlejohn and Cromwell, are interesting and patient characters, the motive for the crime is rather simple (though it is repeated twice) and the characters are mostly angry, instead of having a variety of responses.
The mystery, which takes place in the town of Evingden, has 3 victims: John Dodd, Richard Fallows, and John Piper. The inspectors find a numb This mystery concerns the explosion at a joinery company. Three men are killed and there is a strong financial component. While the inspectors, Littlejohn and Cromwell, are interesting and patient characters, the motive for the crime is rather simple (though it is repeated twice) and the characters are mostly angry, instead of having a variety of responses.
The mystery, which takes place in the town of Evingden, has 3 victims: John Dodd, Richard Fallows, and John Piper. The inspectors find a number of people linked to the victims: Fred Hoop, the other board member, Bugler, the keeper of the books, Roper, the sad banker, the wealthy but deceased Mr. Sandman, his wife Mrs. Sandman and her daughter Bella, the angry businessman, Alderman Vintner, and Ash, the lawyer. There are a few other characters who play lesser roles. The only person who remains calm is Mrs. Sandman. Most everyone else talks only when calmed by the polite inspectors.
The motive for the crime has to do with greed concerning real estate in Evingden. The Excelsior Joinery company is going under due to a lack of business. But Mr. Sandman and Vintner have inside information as to the expansion of the town and which properties will be worth much more once redevelopment starts. They gather Roper, Ash, the shady Dodd, and the two women to try buying and selling properties to make a big profit. However their plot starts to unravel and so one character decides to take out Dodd. In the end, the inspectors gather everyone to reveal the killer. (view spoiler).
The beginning of the novel has quite a bit of slang common at the time the novel takes place (1960s) that I had to guess at. The suspects were sensibly upset about the financial losses but it felt a bit repetitive. And the motive, though a bit complicated by having many people involved, was not as difficult to figure out as the author implied it was. The mystery lacked some suspense as well. ...more

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