From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Surfeit of Suspects

George Bellairs,

Martin Edwards (Introduction)

Start date: April 1, 2023

Finish date: April 30, 2023

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What Members Thought

Mar 14, 2022 Anissa rated it really liked it

Shelves: british-fiction-uk-ireland, mystery-suspense-crime, 2022, british-library-crime-classics

I really enjoyed this reissue from British Crime Classics. I have read others with Inspector Littlejohn (here he's now a Superintendent) and enjoyed them so it was nice to check in with him again. This is quintessential police procedural and I enjoyed reading along trying to figure out who actually did the murders. Three of five directors are blown up during a meeting

The title didn't lie. Every single person connected to the Excelsior Joinery Company had a motive and that made for quite the puzz ...more

36 likes · Like · see review

Mar 20, 2023 Susan rated it liked it

Inspector Littlejohn is sent to investigate the deaths of three company directors, when they are literally blown up during a meeting. I found the plot of this one a little complicated, as it deals with financial irregularies and misdemeanours, along with some of the most unpleasant characters I have come across in a mystery. Far from being in awe of the law, most of those involved tell Littlejohn to sling his hook, in no uncertain terms. Still, he is determined to uncover what happened and, by t ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 11, 2023 Susan in NC rated it really liked it

Shelves: tbr-with-gr-groups, audiobook, detectives-23challenge

3.5-4 stars rounded up because I like Inspector Littlejohn, George Bellairs’ series detective. This book opens with a literal bang, as the offices of the failing Excelsior Joinery company explode. The police find three of the five directors dead inside, and determine dynamite was the cause. But who did it, and why?

Scotland Yard is called in, and Littlejohn arrives to delve into the failing business, the lives of the deceased directors, and the last two directors, a tough-as-nails old coot father ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 24, 2022 Bev rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-mystery, bought-2020, mystery, mount-tbr-2022, silver-age-mystery

The growing town of Evingden is rocked by explosion one November evening. It blasts the windows out of shops and houses and completely destroys the offices of the Excelsior Joinery Company, as well as reducing the number of directors from five to two in one fell swoop. When the arson experts get done investigating, it's clear that someone has used dynamite to blow up the building. Did someone have it in for the company--or these particular directors? Or maybe it was more personal and two of the The growing town of Evingden is rocked by explosion one November evening. It blasts the windows out of shops and houses and completely destroys the offices of the Excelsior Joinery Company, as well as reducing the number of directors from five to two in one fell swoop. When the arson experts get done investigating, it's clear that someone has used dynamite to blow up the building. Did someone have it in for the company--or these particular directors? Or maybe it was more personal and two of the men were caught in a plot aimed at only one of them? Chief Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is dispatched to get to the bottom of the mystery. He discovers that the company was in deep financial trouble and that the directors' had sunk everything they had into trying to save it. He also discovers that a life insurance policy taken out on one of the victims (with their lending bank as beneficiary) will save the company from ruin. Could that be the motive? But as he and Inspector Cromwell keep digging, they unearth more skeletons in the Evingden closets. And one of them was definitely worth killing for.

Surfeit: (noun) an excessive amount of something

I hate to disagree with an author and all, but there really isn't an excessive amount of suspects here (despite the description of the plot above). Honestly, there aren't that many suspects that one can take seriously once we really start examining the supposed motives. That would be one of the major reasons this is a three-star book and not four (or more). While there are plenty of less-than-desirable characters wandering around, it seemed pretty obvious who the main suspect was--though I did find it a bit baffling (for quite some time) how s/he got their hands on the dynamite. But Bellairs explains that nicely. The ending is a bit weak as well, with Littlejohn bluffing his way through a confrontation and the culprit conveniently having a stroke to indicate his/her guilt.

I still enjoy Littlejohn's character and it was interesting to follow him and Cromwell about in their investigation. And it's well worth the price of admission to watch Littlejohn's exchange with the Fraud Squad personnel. Overall, a solid, though less mystifying entry in the Littlejohn exploits.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks. ...more

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Jan 20, 2020 Sandy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-detective-grp, mystery-classic, z2023-scenes-classic-crime, rread-2023, rread-2020

I loved Bellairs' writing style. It is breezy and light with lots of dry humor. His characterizations are concise and complete; I felt I knew even the most minor players. Good plot as Bellairs uses his banking background. ...more

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Feb 21, 2020 Jacqueline Vick rated it liked it · review of another edition

Author George Bellairs does something that many books on the craft of writing would frown at, and that is to go into even minor character's heads for a brief time. I find it delightful, because this tactic gives a rounded out picture of a character who might otherwise have been a name on the page. The waitress. The postman. Instead, Bellairs makes sure the reader has been properly introduced and even gives a peek at what happens after these characters leave the page. This technique gives the fee ...more

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Mar 15, 2023 Jill rated it really liked it

Shelves: jill-s-ninth-year-challenge, george-bellairs

Having read books by this author that were published in the 40's, it was good to see that even though this book published in the 60's, is in keeping with the with the earlier ones. Inspector Littlejohn still feels like the same character.
This book starts with an explosion at a failing joinery factory. Luckily, it is well away from the timber, so just an outbuilding that is blown up. Unfortunately, there are three of the five owners of the factory who had been attending a meeting there. It is fou ...more

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Apr 13, 2023 Frances rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This was a golden age mystery, involving an explosion which killed 3 members of the board of a failing company. It was OK, well written, but the plot was just not particularly interesting or engaging.

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