
Member Reviews

A series that grows better with each book! Ms. Truss has really got her arms around the characters, location, and tone in the Constable Twitten series and her humor gives these mysteries that extra bit of shine and specialness. I also appreciate the changed and changing relationships between Twitten and Mrs. Groynes and Sgt. Brunswick - the characters are evolving with time but in an organic way that reads as natural and easy breezy. If there's a word to hang your hat on with Ms. Truss's writing, I think it would be "unforced" - she writes with confidence and the humor and crime solving fold together as neat as a pin. A strong recommend!

Enjoyed the mid century setting and cast of quite eccentric characters. Twitten is hoping for a bit of a break in the action, but three bodies add up to a lot of busyness. I liked reading this and the characters.

DNF
2020
I could not even finish book one, at 15%, so I am not going to try and read the next two books in the series. I feel like I would be forcing myself and rate it low.

have found Lynn Truss to be so entertaining and clever ever since she wrote Eats Shoots and Leaves. I rejoiced when she started to pen mysteries. This title is the third that she has written.
The story takes place in 1957’s Brighton where several murders occur. Who will have done it? How hard will it be to solve the case?
If you like your mysteries quirky and don’t mind some “bad” language, this book is worth a look.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

This is book 3 in the Constable Twitten Mystery series. I picked it becausee the author Lynne Truss is a familiar name. Set in Brighton, England during the 1950's this genre is a little out of my normal pick. Constable Twitten and his Sergeant Brunswick are trying to solve a multiple murder when a room with lots of dead bodies is found. This story seems to be a comedy of errors that actually turns out with the crimes being solved. I think reading the first two books in the series might have helped me understand the characters better. Readers expecting a cozy should be aware the language is vulgar and a little unexpected. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Hilarious and quirky - just my cup of tea! (or should I say, glass of milk!)
Murder by Milk Bottle is the third in the Constable Twitten historical mystery series. Set in Brighton in 1957, the story takes place over the August long weekend. There are three murders in one night. Each victim (a beauty contest runner-up, an AA patrolman, and a visiting radio celebrity) has been hit over the head with a full milk bottle and then stabbed with the broken remains.
Told in the third person, this story takes the reader on a wild ride through the jam-packed streets of Brighton over a very eventful four days. The characters are quirky and sometimes stereotypical, yet feel very real. I love Constable Twitten! He wants the minutia of police work but finds himself investigating multiple murders. He is inquisitive and curious and methodical and desperately wants to fit it. I felt so bad for him when he realized that he actually was paid on a weekly basis and that there was a police canteen across the street! There was a great sense of time and place. The author wove both very naturally into the story. I can't wait to go back to the beginning and read the first two books in the series.
"You'll feel a lot better if you drink more milk."
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for sending me a copy for review.

Murder by Milk Bottle by Lynn Truss is a Keystone Cops kind of mystery, although it is not so much the mystery as the characters. Chief Inspector Steine is kind of a buffoon but everyone keeps still about it. The last time he and his men had been eating ice cream when the gang shootout happened, killing 45 gang members. He was credited with the genius of the scheme. This time, shot the last remaining bad guy, although it had nothing to do with him knowing what was going on, Sergeant Brunswick is a good guy, really too nice to be a copper and sadly in want of a lady friend. Despite his best efforts he never can seem to find one. In fact, the latest one to stand him up had, indeed, been murdered in lieu of meeting him as she had agreed. She and two others had been killed just hours apart, that night. Each one with milk bottles. Very odd. Constable Twitten was the only one amongst them that had much of a brain, and he, if anything, was too intelligent. It got him in trouble. The last major player is the charwoman at the police station, Mrs. Groynes, was a leader of the local, and indeed, country-wide band of higher level criminals. Twitten knew this and had shared the information with his superiors but they had just rolled their eyes.
The mystery was a good one with multiple facets, all leading to the climax. Twitten kept his nose to the grindstone while the others simply went about their business. It was extremely well-plotted, depending on perfect timing. The characters are to die for m each having thoroughly fleshed out personalities and behaving as the reader would expect in all situations. In many ways it was a comedy of errors, but also well a well-executed plan, which everyone took in stride. In many ways it is outrageously funny, in other ways to close to real life. It is perfect. There is nothing more to say.
I was invited to read a free ARC of Murder by Milk Bottle by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #murderbymilkbottle

With all the mess going on right now in the world and in the White House, it is almost comforting to be hunting for a killer in 1957 Brighton, England. For three victims have been killed in an unusual way. In fact, it is Murder by Milk Bottle.
Constable Twitten was hoping to have a quiet day. But alas, it was not to be. Three victims with nothing in common beyond their cause of death. A young beauty contest runner-up, a radio comedian, and a policeman? All killed within a three-hour period. Could the new milk bar in town be the reason that milk bottles were used as the weapon?
I’m getting increasingly bored with this series. Constable Twitten must be the most unobservant policeman, or even person, in Britain. He didn’t realize how to collect his pay for six weeks? He didn’t find out about a cafeteria in the police station for even longer? He knows who the Moriarty in Brighton is but doesn’t tell a soul? Speaking of the Moriarty, does she have to be behind all of Brighton’s crimes?
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend Murder by Milk Bottle except for its trip back to a simpler time. 2 stars.
Thanks to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

So can a book with Murder in the title be charming? Yes, it can. It can also be crazy. So many bodies to keep track of. Set in 1950’s Brighton, it’s the third book in the series. This one wasn't my favorite, but if you're looking for a murder story with some humor you'll enjoy it.

a crazy story from start to finish. You will have to pay attention in order to keep track of the body count in this one. I think I lost track at about 20....but it is an enjoyable ride to get to the bodies.

Constable Twitten, Inspector Steine, and Sergeant Brunswick find themselves faced with three murders, all committed with, well, milk bottles. Set in Brighton in the 1950s, this is meant to be a light tale but somehow much of it fell flat for me. I admit I didn't enjoy the first book and missed the second one so I had high hopes for this installment (I mean, really, murder by milk bottles?). Unfortunately, the humor was too broad for me and the characters not deep enough. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Give it a try if you enjoy blunt British humor.

Really enjoyed this will be recommending to others who enjoy fun light quirky mysteries .Enjoyed the characters the storyline kept me entertained Lynne Truss always rights fun reads.#netgalley #blloomsburybooks.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick, light, fun read. I would recommend it to others. It checks the boxes for what I look for in a cozy.

A farcical mystery set in 1950s Brighton, featuring crime fiction's most unusual murder weapon. Nothing is as it seems and no one is to be trusted--except for a certain earnest constable determined to solve the Milk Bottle Murders. And to find his locker. If you like Midsomer Murders, humor, and historical mysteries, you'll like this book, the third in the Constable Twitten series.

I had a hard time getting into the story. I usually like this kind of book, but this one was a little more difficult for me to get through. I had to set it down and pick it up a few times before I finished it. The book had its moments with the dry wit that you'd expect from this story. The cast of characters was interesting and I enjoyed the setting as well. I didn't realize that it was part of a series and I guess I might have enjoyed it more if I had read the others.

Brighton, summer of 1957, is the setting for this story. Not one or two but three murders have Constable Twitten, Sergeant Brunswick and Inspector Steine wondering what on earth is going on. Even more puzzling is the manner of death which is one of the most unique and bizarrely over the top I've read! Not believable but that's not the point...this is a lighthearted read, not one in which you get bogged down in details. To me the murders are beside the point.
Witty and dry British humour is my favourite but this particular branch of humour didn't work for me this time. Yes, the book is crazy and quirky which is usually appealing but this wasn't a fit for me. Don't let this dissuade you...it's personal preference.
The book was well written for the most part, truly comical in places, though occasionally a bit disjointed. The British setting is great and the twisty paths to get to resolution are fun. Characters are described and portrayed well, an unusual assortment indeed!
For those sensitive to adult language just know there is some in this book.
My sincere thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest review of this book. Much appreciated.

The Constable Twitten books remind me of the British comedy crime movies of the 1950s/60s, like The Ladykillers, The Lavender Hill Mob, or the movies starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. If movies like that were still being made, I can just see these books adapted for the screen, with the lively scenes of Brighton’s beach, boardwalk and pier in the 1950s, the featured locations of ice-cream parlors and other Brighton businesses, and a small police station with its regulars of Inspector Steine, Sergeant Brunswick, Constable Twitten, and the ever-present cleaning lady Mrs. Goynes.
Despite the festive air of the August Bank Holiday weekend, Brighton has turned into a hotbed of crime, what with claims of fraud in various amateur competitions, a secretive set of villains in town for a big meeting, and three shocking murders—by milk bottle. Even brainy Constable Twitten is at a loss, so no surprise that the plodding Sergeant Brunswick and the complete dunderhead Inspector Steine haven’t a hope.
With a little help from Mrs. Goynes, and none at all from his amateur psychologizing, Twitten not only solves the convoluted crimes, he also changes his relationships at work for the better.
I enjoy the broad humor and postwar nostalgic flavor of the Twitten novels, and this one is particularly fun with its advertising gimmicks and slogans, BBC quiz shows, and manic plot. It’s also notable for giving us a deeper acquaintance with the regular characters.
Though it’s not absolutely necessary to read this series in order, if you don’t you will miss the origin of the glorious silliness of one ongoing aspect of the plot.

Another entertaining romp from Lynn Truss. As frothy as the foam on a cappuccino, this entertaining mystery makes a perfect holiday read.

A little different cozy mystery, but enjoyed it. Quirky characters and a good story overall. Would recommend this book and author.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Bloomsbury Printing, in return for an honest review. An interesting setting in 1957 Brighton, England, allows the author to introduce a range of quirky characters to the reader. The protagonist is Constable Twitten of the local police force. Serving under Sergeant Brunswick and Inspector Steine to solve a trio of apparently separate murders that involve death by milk bottle, the Constable relies on his unique interpretation of those around him and their motives to unearth the culprits. This is quite the departure from the traditional cozy in some ways. The cast of characters is lengthy and I did find it difficult to always track who was who and why they were involved. Kudos to the author for a distinctive take on the traditional mystery.