Skulduggery behind the net curtains...

When a Sunday newspaper tantalises its readers with promises of a juicy story about a blue movie ostensibly made in a quiet, respectable English town, the residents of Flaxborough are horrified to see that the accompanying photograph is of their town’s main street. So when top muck-raking journalist Clive Grail and his team arrive in the town, they aren’t exactly welcomed with open arms. In fact, the mayor decides this would be a golden opportunity to use the antique duelling pistols he has just purchased, and issues a challenge to Grail. This may have been intended as a publicity stunt, but things take a more sinister turn when one of the characters dies...

I loved the Flaxborough Chronicles in my youth and have been enjoying reading some of them again as they’ve been published for Kindle by Farrago. However, the series wasn’t of the same standard across its whole length of twelve books – in the first couple, Watson was finding his feet, then there’s a glorious section of six or seven in the middle when he was on top form, before they fell away a little in the last few. Being book 10, this isn’t one of the best. My tendency is always to compare these lesser ones to the best of the series (Broomsticks over Flaxborough, for instance) but this is unfair. Compared to many other books of the same period, even Watson’s less good ones shine.

Part of the problem is that the humour of the earlier books comes from Watson allowing us to peek behind the net curtains of respectability of the middle-classes of the 1950s. By the end of the series, we’re in the ‘70s, and society had changed so much in the intervening years that that kind of show of respectability and class deference had pretty much disappeared, and I never felt Watson really got to grips with how to lampoon the late ‘60s and ‘70s in quite the same way. The delicious, wickedly salacious wit with which he mocks the shenanigans of the ultra-respectable burghers of the town in the ‘50s takes on an edge of crudity in the more liberal ‘70s, and the slang used by his younger characters in particular doesn’t ring wholly true.

Having said that, he still provides an entertaining story, full of characters who are deliberately caricatured and overdrawn. As the newspaper team begin to realise that the story they expected to get isn’t turning out quite the way they anticipated, they have to scramble to save their reputations and jobs, since the paper won’t be pleased if they don’t come up with the goods. Meantime, the townsfolk are split between those outraged at the idea of their town being linked with porn, and those who find it all quite titillating. Inspector Purbright must try to keep the peace by stopping the mayor from carrying through on his threat of a duel, and then must investigate the sudden death which takes everyone by surprise.

The investigation element of this one is pretty poor. We see the story mainly from the perspective of the newspaper team, with Purbright and his team becoming heavily involved only at the end. Purbright seems to get at the truth too easily and the reader isn’t really shown the connecting links – we’re merely presented with the conclusion. It holds together and makes sense, and in retrospect there are some clues, but on the whole the solution comes out of the blue. Also, while Chubb and Love and the other police regulars show up, we spend very little time with them, and Miss Teatime fans will be sad to know she doesn’t appear in this one at all.

Overall, then, not one of the best but still entertaining enough to be well worth reading. Each of these books stands alone, but I wouldn’t recommend starting with this one. Existing fans will be more willing to make allowances for its comparative weaknesses than newcomers, I think. But the series as a whole is not to be missed! New readers might be better to start at the beginning with Coffin Scarcely Used.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Farrago.

This is another joyous mystery in the Flaxborough Chronicles. As always there’s the wonderful wry humour and ingenious plot twists to keep up utterly delighted.
A consignment of Fleet Street journalists arrive in the village to investigate rumours of blue movies. They wreck market day and a series of unfortunate events follows including a kidnapping and a threatened duel. It’s all wonderfully crazy.
Our hero DI Purbright is in his usual fine form, even though he’s without his usual unofficial sidekick of Miss Teatime. We miss here but there’s enough liveliness and fun to keep the reader thoroughly entertained. Lots to chuckle at and admire.

Kidnapping, murder, dirty movies. It’s just another day in the charming town of Flaxborough. A group of reporters are in town in pursuit of a story and manage to disrupt market day by nearly running over a police officer. They have taking over a local boarding house and the housekeeper is sure they are up to no good. Then the reporter of the group is kidnapped and it’s up to Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love to return a state of order to Flaxborough.

I have to say I was disappointed by this installment in the series. The story just fell flat for me. Inspector Purbright barely appears in the first half of the book and there is no trace of the lovely Miss Teatime. I had the feeling that the author was just forcing himself with this one. So that’s it folks, just an average story, not up to the quality of the previous ones.

Received in exchange for a honest review.

Colin Watson has created a great character in Purbright. He is witty, charming and unassuming. Completely underestimated by those he talks to in his investigations.

The small village life is satirically shown and fun to read about in this one. We have the mayor being spurred on by the newsman. A journalist who tries to pull the wool over many and it turns into a disaster and the steadfasty and smart but genial Purbright who puts it all together.

The story has twists and turns and is highlight entertaining. For me Colin Watson is up there with Ruth Rendell in English Detective series. The writing is great, the stories entertaining and imaginative with twists and turns. They are page turners and have you wanting to play detective alongside their detectives The difference is how Watson puts humor and more personality into Purbright. He has you relate more to him and the town living more. This story was fun and full of many different plots that wove together well. I truly love the unassuming nature of Purbright and how you truly don’t know what he is thinking or how and why things turned out like they do until the end. Keeps you in the story.

n this book , just like many of the previous ones, the solution is given to you with a sudden sleight of hand. We are meant to enjoy the shenanigans of the people involved and not put any effort in trying to figure out what the crime or its perpetrator was. A london car makes its loud way into flaxborough. It carries dubious characters with a reputation for publishing sensational news. They hint at having some dirt on the locals. This causes multiple uncomfortable situations but the writing was hilarious once again. 

 'I feared as much' he said, which was not strictly true because he had not previously given the matter enough thought to feel anything more than mild curiosity.

The above was one of the milder sentences about the local constabulary head which made me chuckle.If you do not find it very funny, I assure you that it sounds funnier in the context of everything else he does apart from actual use his brains.  This made the read enjoyable and the weird behaviour of a prominent female character Birdie could be glossed upon. Inspector Purbright and his minions were at work and played a very pivotal role in getting this case all wrapped up.

Blue Murder is the 10th Flaxborough mystery by Colin Watson. Originally published in 1979, the Flaxborough books are being reformatted and re-released by Farrago press so they can be rediscovered and enjoyed by mystery lovers.

These books are extremely dry and the plots are somewhat convoluted and ridiculous. They are on the whole really wickedly funny and extremely well crafted. They're a combination of murder mystery and a seriously acerbic lampooning of post WWII village life.

I have heard that Shakespeare had the somewhat enviable ability to actually think and write in iambic pentameter. Well, Colin Watson had an innate and unerring ear for the acidic and wry double-entendre.

There were moments in this book when I found myself yanked out of the story because I had to re-read what the author had said to make sure I understood what he meant. If the modern reader just skims over the story without putting in a little effort to actually dissect the clever writing, they won't appreciate more than 50-60%. A great deal of the meaning isn't directly on display. In that sense also, this book is quintessentially British. I suspect most modern American readers will have to put in a little extra effort to really enjoy and appreciate these books.

The series was written and set in 60s-70s England and as such they can appear somewhat nostalgic and quaint.

This book in particular seemed to me a little less accessible. I had to work a little harder to really appreciate the jokes. The plot was the tiniest bit plodding in places and instead of just devouring the book in one sitting, I had to read it in several sessions; I found my interest waning occasionally. I think most readers who prefer their reading to be easily digested and completely on the surface will probably be annoyed by Colin Watson. For those discerning readers who don't mind working for their enjoyment, they'll be richly rewarded for their efforts.

I really did enjoy this book and look forward to enjoying the rest of the series. They absolutely do not make them like this anymore. Watson's command of English was spectacular. He reminds me somewhat of Maugham, if Maugham had the naughty sense of humor of a 12 year old schoolboy.

Four stars.

Colin Watson, maybe it’s me, not your book. Blue Murder is the 10th book in the Flaxborough Chronicles. Perhaps if I had begun with the very first book, Coffin, Scarcely Used (first released in 1958), I would find the denizens of Flaxborough prickly but charming and humanly flawed instead of petty, deceptive and unlikable. The town dwellers are so dreadful that they rival the crew — with the exception of researcher Birdie Clemenceaux — from the national tabloid Sunday Herald, made up equal parts investigative reporting and scandal-mongering. You’ve got to be god-awful to make the British equivalent of the National Enquirer look decent by comparison.

The premise is that the Sunday Herald’s ace muckraker, Clive Grail, gets a tip that the bourgeois town of Flaxborough is secretly producing pornographic movies that have been boffo hits in the Persian Gulf. Detective Inspector Purbright, one of the few decent people in Flaxborough, is determined to shake out the truth.

If you can get messages in the afterlife, Mr. Watson (I’m sure you don’t want me taking the liberty of calling you Colin), you’ll be glad to know that, despite dying in 1983, Farrago is re-issuing your books in both paperback and Kindle. (Ask one of the more recent angels about Kindle.) So you probably don’t care that, after reading two-thirds of this dreadful book, I felt compelled to chuck it. But for the readers, caveat emptor. But just in case it really is me, I've thrown in an extra star.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Farrago in exchange for an honest review.

This is the tenth book in the series and I would recommend you start at the first book, Coffin Scarcely Used, which for me was far better.

It took a long time to actually get to the murder and Purbright was hardly in it!

The book is based around a London newspaper crew trying to uncover a scandal and I just thought the book came across really dated. I appreciate it was written in the 70s but at times parts made me cringe, interestingly I didn't find this as much in the first book I read. It was a great shame as I have enjoyed these books in the past but the book seemed lacklustre and at times I had no idea what was going on! The first book I read very quickly however this one was more of a chore.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pornographic movies? Blackmail? Scandal? In Flaxborough? How will Inspector Purbright deal with this? I love the wry humor in this series and highly recommend it. Thanks to Farrago and NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

More peculiar and highly amusing goings on in Flaxborough for poor D.I Purbright to contend with in 'Blue Murder '. Luckily Purbright is a capable chap and takes things in his stride - even when coping with a highly irregular duel at dawn! As always, plenty of fun to be had, engaging characters, frantic plotlines and very wry humour, written so well these novels really are timeless. Highly recommended.

When a car full of London journalists show up in Flaxborough, you know trouble will ensue. A tricky mystery with a surprise villain enriches the social satire that is a trademark of these books.

The title gives you a clue to what the journalists are pursuing, a "blue" or pornographic movie. Solving the mysteries around this situation includes a duel, a traffic violation, a high-priced lawyer, and a few local eccentrics.

It's yet another charming book in this series.

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence my review.

I keep coming back to Colin Watson’s entertaining British detective series: A Flaxborough Mystery, featuring the unflappable Inspector Purbright.

Blue Murder is a new release of a book originally published in 1979. In this installment, muckracking newsmen and a female research assistant have arrived in Flaxborough from London after receiving a tip that pornographic films are being made by local villagers. Unfortunately for them, a traffic accident brings them to the immediate attention of the police. Then, the teaser published in their London paper incites the ire of Flaxborough’s mayor. He’s a hot-headed Scotsman, easily manipulated by pranksters who get him to challenge the leader of the muckrakers to a duel in order to defend the honor of the town. This, too, is a matter for local law enforcement, much to Purbright’s chagrin.

In his usual unexcitable, methodical way, Purbright keeps tabs on local troubles and tries to calm things down without inserting himself too much into the mix. In early chapters, his profile is pretty low. It’s the London reporters who take center stage.

There is a lot going on and the plot is pretty convoluted, but stick with it and things gradually fall into place. The tip the reporters received is a false one. To save face, they need a way to back out before it gets any worse. Using the excuse of riled and unpredictable villagers, they contrive a fake kidnaping of the star reporter. But that plan goes horribly awry.

Now Purbright has no choice but to step in. With his faithful sidekick, detective Sydney Love, as well as a few others of Flaxborough’s finest, he digs in to unravel a plot that has its beginnings in an unsolved death from a few years past.

Once again, wry humor carries the novel. Purbright’s detecting style is a delight. And while his character remains rather enigmatic to the readers, we do at least learn he is married. (Was that evident before? How did I miss it?)

These novels are quick, delightful reads and I look forward to more of them.

A joy to read as all the other books in the Flaxborough series!
I loved how the plot started slowly developing till the climax and had a lot of fun reading about the duel and mayor antics.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Farrago and Netgalely for this ARC

Some of us, and that would include me, are suckers for British village mysteries. The Flaxborough Chronicles are a delight. The gentle humor and wonderfully intelligent writing are a great pleasure.

In this case, a carload of journalists from the big city descends on the village in a splashy Rolls-Royce. Much confusion follows, touching on murder, a faked kidnapping, a possible duel, and the production of skin flicks by a local photographic club.

Throughout all, DI Purbright shows himself to be savvy, down to earth, and supremely competent. Reading a Flaxborough Chronicle is a great treat. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Originally written in 1979, this installment in the Flaxborough Chronicles takes a more salacious turn as London journalist Clive Grail is determined to ferret out and reveal the local photography club as a purveyor of “blue” films and blackmail, hoping to get a byline on a huge story for the Sunday Herald. His snooping, however, enrages the local mayor, who challenges Clive to a duel for the honor of Flaxborough and its erstwhile residents.

But, the truth is a bit twisted: films of the town’s local productions, usually amateur operettas, have been doctored and marketed as porn for the Far East markets, earning the culprit some serious cash, while providing a London journalist with a potential expose, already ‘teased’ in the press. Of course, the town wants to protect its image, and a plot is conceived for the journalist to find a story, even one that is not as expected when…. You guessed it – a body turns up, bringing in the Inspector and his team.

What I’ve come to expect from Watson is an incredible facility with language and a keen sense of observation, all put to play with subtle, and not so, digs at the ‘established’ way (some may say stodgy and stereotypical) of doing things. No one is safe, as Purbright in discovering the murderer also discovers a motive that was both well-hidden and a surprise when all is said and done. Fully enjoyable as the twists, turns and a bit of hilarity ensue, making this another solid installment in the series. Easily read as a stand-alone story, it’s been a wonderful opportunity to see the growth and development of Purbright’s character and his ever-increasing discovery of the failures in humanity as a whole as he opines widely on people and their behavior as the series has progressed. A solid, if wholly different from the gore and ‘cutesy’ trends of cozies today, with language and attitudes that are clearly ‘of their day’ and not politically correct, these are fun, clever mysteries that bring a sense of the earlier classic authors of the genre.

I received an eBook copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-9U4/”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

This is probably my least favourite of this series so far, but it’s still quite a good mystery. I wanted more from the regular gang, and wouldn’t recommend you to start the series with this, but if you’re reading them, it gives you pretty much what you expect.

Watson was a somewhat non-PC satirist (by today’s standards) in the style of Flann O’Brien and Evelyn Waugh – who also shared careers in journalism. His surreal plots and witty wordplay poke fun at the pomposity and hypocrisy of provincial dignitaries in small towns like that of Boston in Lincolnshire (where Watson worked) in the 1950’s. Four of his novels were adapted by the BBC for a series entitled ‘’Murder Most English’ - the style of which seems to have resurfaced later in almost identical guise as ‘Midsummer Murders’, with similar preposterous storylines and eccentric characters.
This particular plot revolves around the rumours of a ‘blue’ film being made using local townsfolk, with blackmail, kidnap and challenge to a duel added to the farcical chain of events, following a write up on scurrilous Fleet Street tabloid newspaper.
As always, it is a joy to read another of the Flaxborough Chronicles in the delicious knowledge that there are more to catch up with in the series.

nvestigative journalists from London have arrived in Flaxborough hot on the trail of a juicy story. Could residents really have been making and distributing pornographic films? How did the films wind up in foreign markets? Who tipped the reporters off to the story? And which familiar faces will be seen when the copy of the film is played?

The reporters don't get off to a very good start, running into a constable while driving along a blocked lane on market day. The constable would love to see the driver brought up on charges for attempted homicide, but the team finally settles into a rented farmhouse to begin their work. The journalists tap into local sources for information, bring in a translator (since the film has been dubbed in another language for the foreign viewers), and even have the legal advice of a lawyer sent from the newspaper's head office.

Why do things start going wrong? Did the informant that first broke the story have ulterior motives? Is the film what it is purported to be? And who is responsible for kidnapping the chief journalist? Can one small village really be the source of this much trouble?

These mysteries are carefully constructed so that everything dovetails neatly in the end, but readers must be patient with the slower speed of investigations set in a time before internet, CCTV, and other modern conveniences. Recommended for lovers of cozy mysteries in historical settings.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, atmosphere, and characters. I would recommend the book to friends and family for their reading pleasure.

Thanks to the publisher, Farrago, for providing a free digital ARC via Netgalley.

Even the best writers are bound to produce a clunker or two when writing a series, and this appears to be Watson’s. Though his dry wit is as much in evidence as always, his plotting and characterization just aren’t up to snuff. He writes so ornately and euphemistically that it sometimes requires work to be sure you know what he’s getting at. The characters, especially the crew up from London, are two-dimensional. Even Purbright seems flat. Worst of all, there is no Miss Teatime in this entry in the series.

This is definitely not a good place to start with the Flaxborough series. Start with the first, Coffin Scarcely Used, or my favorite, Lonelyheart 4122.