charming cozy with a fun view of small town life with big personalities. Fun and funny!

I just finished the first book in this "series" too, so I wanted to keep the flow going. Unfortunately, I just cannot get interested in these books. Good thing is that you don't need to read the first book to read this one. The stories are separate, just some of the characters and situations are similar.

I don't pick up on the humor in these books. Either because I'm bored, or I just don't realize it's a joke. I can enjoy British humor in TV/movies, so maybe it just doesn't translate well for me while reading a book.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Farrago for the ARC, for which I have given an honest and unbiased review*

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

I loved the first book in the A Flaxborough Mystery Series: Coffin, Scarcely Used and was eager to get to book 2: Bump in the Night. This series by British author Colin Watson from the 1950s/60s is being re-released in electronic form, and I’m thrilled to have discovered them through Netgalley.

That said, I’d urge you to start with book one, because book two wouldn’t have hooked me by itself. It can be read as a stand-alone, but the charm of its protagonist would be missing.

Bump in the Night is set in a town nearby to Flaxborough, named Chalmsbury. It begins with a middle-of-the-night explosion that destroys a statue/water fountain in a local park that had been dedicated to a local luminary. A series of similar unexplained explosions follows. The shocked and entertained locals discuss the events for a few chapters before the police chief, Inspector Hector Larch, becomes involved. As an inspector, he’s clearly out of his league. His method is a rather prejudiced bullying of whatever witness he comes across in the hopes of extracting a confession. The townspeople know him too well, however, to be bullied. He is aided by a young policeman named Worple who is more intelligent and possibly more capable. But the reader’s introduction to Worple shows him as somewhat lazy and obstructionist, so it’s hard to get behind him as the investigation proceeds.

The townspeople are, as in Coffin, Scarcely Used, a collection of oddball characters/caricatures. But they are not as endearing as those of Flaxborough. The physical descriptions are still written with the dry wit of book one, but some seem more labored. The characters’ quirks are more irritating, their habits more tawdry. And Larch’s aggressive and ineffective methods give the book a meandering, aimless feeling.

Thankfully, just as I was wondering if it was worth plodding on, Inspector Purbright is called in from neighboring Flaxborough. What a relief! Continuity was restored to the series and the clever, good-souled detective shows up to move things along. Pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place. The townspeople reveal hidden depths–not all that deep, but at least they are less one-dimensional. The pace picks up and I am intrigued by the crime.

Obviously, I wasn’t as enamored of book two as I was of book one, and yet, on the whole, it was a satisfying read. Purbright remains a compelling protagonist. Hopefully, he will be more present in book 3, because I’m still a fan of the series and want to see what he does next.

If you like quaint mysteries, this book might appeal to you. I thought that this would be one of those books where you fall in love with the cast of quirky characters. But I struggled to even finish reading this book. There were not really any characters that I liked. They were just weird and unlikeable.

But the biggest problem that I had with this book is that the real solving of the mystery did not begin until after the half way point. The book got more engaging at that point.

Another problem is that there was no way that the reader had no way to solve this mystery absent the main character's denoument. Most mystery books are written where the reader has at least a fair chance to solve it before the big reveal.

I will admit that the book had one great attribute---it cured my insomnia. I really thought that I would like this book, but I only finished it because I cannot leave a book unfinished.

I will not be reading more books in this series.

I just finished this, the second in the series, and will be starting the third as soon as I finish this review. These books were originally published in the 1950's and may at first glance look like light-hearted British Procedurals, and they are, but they are so much more.
First off, they are incredibly well written. Watson had a wonderful mastery of the English language and the book is very witty and reveals a dry sense of humor. The main detective,Pulbright, is understated, and therefore, underestimated by his peers, but is very sharp and effective.
The book will please, the ending will surprise and you'll be glad you read this book.

I really enjoyed this story. It is a classic British cozy. The characters are well written, the story moves along and there were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing. I look forward to reading more in this series..

If you've yet to discover the joys of Purbright's patch then you are missing out. This, the second in the series, does not disappoint. Colin Watson does not 'just' produce a whodunnit but a world to savour, beautifully written and packed with clever, dry and wry humour. A rollicking good read not to be missed. Lovers of a clever mystery will enjoy.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is the second of the Flaxborough series and I found it far less enjoyable than the fourth (Lonelyheart 4122) - I am reading them out of order. Here a series of explosions demolishes a statue, a fountain and an optician's sign. The initial investigation is carried out by an Inspector Larch. It was hard to warm to Larch and Inspector Purbright, whom I know from the fourth instalment and who is much more relatable, did not appear until the half-way mark.

There were touches of humour, but mainly a series of indistinguishable middle-aged men making "witty" and/or dull conversation with each other. Even the conclusion was dragged out and the murderer turned out to be the person I had suspected by reason of his having no discernible reason for otherwise being in the narrative. Hopefully the third in this series will mark a return to form.

Bump in the night started off with quite a bit of descriptipn but quickly got to the mystery. Good twists and turns and a good end

Skulduggery in Middle England... 5 stars

Chalmsbury is normally a quiet town with at least a veneer of respectability. So it's a bit of a shock when the residents have their sleep disturbed one Tuesday night when somebody blows up the local drinking fountain. A prankster, is the general feeling, but when on the following Tuesday a statue unfortunately loses its head in another blast, people want the police to get to the bottom of it before more damage is done. The problem is the local Inspector is friends with the man the townsfolk suspect is responsible. So suddenly Inspector Purbright from the neighbouring town of Flaxborough finds himself drafted in...

Colin Watson wrote the twelve books that make up the Flaxborough Chronicles over a period stretching from 1958 to 1982, with this second in the series dating from 1960. Like many series, the books improve for the first two or three, hit a peak in the middle of the series, and then tail off a little towards the end, but even the less good ones are still way ahead of most of the competition. This one loses a little for me by having the action moved to Chalmsbury, which means that we don't see much of the regular cast of characters who appear in the ones based in Flaxborough itself. But it has its own cast of deliciously quirky characters to make up for that lack, and has the same sly and wicked wit, poking fun at the respectable middle-classes of Middle England.

The books are peculiarly suited to the '50s and early '60s – a time when class structures were still fairly rigid in Britain, and people were judged as much by their professional role as by their character, but when the first breezes of the winds of change of the later '60s were beginning to be felt. The joy of Watson is that he takes delight in letting the reader peek at the scandals hidden behind the lace curtains of the outwardly respectable. It's quietly subversive, and must have seemed even more so at the time.

In this one, the action takes place mainly among the shop and business owners of the town, and Purbright soon finds that most of them are willing to gossip about their friends and neighbours. There's a good deal to gossip about – everything from drunk driving to murky business dealings to marital infidelity goes on regularly, and everyone knows everyone else's business. The solution seems perfectly obvious from early on, so you can be sure that won't turn out to be the real one in the end. Underneath all the humour and light social commentary, there's an excellent plot, full of motives, alibis and clues, and it's not long before the destruction of property escalates to a death and a murder investigation. These books are a little too late to really count as Golden Age from a strict time point of view, but they have that feel about them, only with added hanky-panky. Often Watson makes an oblique innuendo and leaves it to the reader's mind to fill in the blanks, and I always imagine him winking cheekily as he does so...

I can never think of these books without the word skulduggery coming into my mind – everybody, except Purbright, is always up to something they shouldn't be, but it's mainly mild naughtiness rather than outright badness.

A delight – books I revisit often and enjoy anew every time. They've been quite hard to get hold of for some time, so I'm happy to see that Farrago are issuing them as e-books. If you've never met Inspector Purbright, give yourself a treat – these books are guaranteed to chase the blues away...

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

DNF the series as of today , thinks Netgalley for at least letting me give this series a try.

Excerpt posted here - full review posted on 26 March

From the local prankster to various eccentrics in the town, Pulbright is steadily interviewing, gathering facts and impressions, and working his way to a conclusion. Characters drawn with a sly, often surprising sense of the absurd, humor and a sharp eye for character abound – from overeager reporters to overly snobby hotel staff: no character is untouched by the keen wit and sharply clever prose. That is, in fact, the joy in these stories for the flow and language add to the reader’s visualization and enjoyment, and in this one at least, the culprit was easy to suss out. Bringing the sensibilities of a Christie novel, the story is about uncovering a motive and reason, rather than focusing on the more salacious elements of gore, gunshots and fast-paced chases. If you enjoy a British murder mystery, particularly those that harken back to the ‘good old days’, this is a series to put on your shelf.

I received an eArc 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-9Gy/”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

This is the second book in the Flaxborough Mystery series, originally published in 1960. It’s entertaining, if rather absurd, with characters with silly surnames, which made me wonder if I was reading a spoof rather than a crime fiction novel. But no, this is crime fiction full of wordplay, innuendo and murder.

It’s set in the neighbouring town of Chalmesbury where a series of explosions have rocked the inhabitants. First a drinking fountain is blown up, then the statue of Alderman Berry is decapitated in another explosion, followed by the destruction of the sign outside the optician’s premises, then culminating in the death of the local haulage contractor. Eventually Inspector Purbright is brought in from Flaxborough to investigate the murder.

On the surface this is an understated story but Wilson’s turn of phrase and descriptions of the characters lifts it above the ordinary as the intricate relationships and secrets are revealed. The practical joker (and haulage contractor), Sid Biggadyke (what a name!) is a ‘big, loosed-leg man‘ with ‘hands clasped behind him … like a pair of courting Flamborough crabs‘ and the ‘back of his neck had the colour and texture of peeled salami.’

The other characters are equally finely drawn, just falling short of caricature – a local councillor, Councillor Pointer; the local police Chief Inspector Larch (who tells Purbright the town is ‘chock-a-block with lunatics‘ who will ‘chatter and natter as long as you’ve a mind to listen‘) and Sergeant Worple; Josiah Kebble, the newspaper editor, Leonard Leaper, a young keen reporter with ambitions to work for the Sun newspaper; Cornelius Payne, a jeweller; a cinema commissionaire, Mr Grope with a large face like a feather bolster who writes doggerel verse and ‘edifying slogans‘, such as ‘No Knife Cuts Like a Sharp Word‘ and ‘Remember Someone May Want to Use this After You’; and Mrs Crispin, a landlady, who is described as ‘mildly Guinness-glad‘, with a ‘gasometer-sized bosom‘ and the face of a ‘rubber doll, enormously inflated‘.

Inspector Purbright, he of the ‘high forehead crowned with short but unruly hair of preposterous king-cup yellow‘, is new to the town and has to feel his way through the details of the explosions and the puzzle of the memorial notice in the newspaper written in verse, cobbled together from two different poems.

Once I’d got into the swing of Watson’s style I raced through this delightful novel, trying to see beyond the red herrings and follow the twists and turns, but it was only very near the end that I managed to identify the culprit.

I was a great idea to re-release this series which I'd never heard of before. I'm an Anglophile and enjoyed visiting Flaxborough in the English countryside with all its quirky characters. Is there a TV series?

Time for another visit to Flaxborough County! This is book 2 in the series and this time around we have a serial bomber in the village of Chalmesbury. After 3 bomb attacks the local council requests the help of Inspector Purbright in tracking down the perpetrator. But just as he’s getting started a 4th bomb results in a murder. Turns out not many people liked the victim and the list of suspects includes just about everybody. Purbright must use all his cunning to sort out the facts from the rumors if he’s going to get his man.

I am still delighted with Inspector Purbright. The author doesn’t offer anything in the way of background, at least not yet, but I just can’t help but be charmed. I especially enjoy reading his interrogation scenes, almost none of which take place in a police station. He’s very clever and casual with his question and always pull more out of his suspect than you would expect. The village of Chalmesbury is a hotbed of intrigue as it turns out and I got completely sucked in by the red herrings in this one. The ending was a complete surprise. I’m so glad this series is being re-released because it’s just such a pleasure to read.

What a marvelous idea it was to re-release this series. Those of us who did not read it the first time around can now experience the joy of visiting Flaxborough, and I'm ready to visit for a long time.

Bump in the Night is the second in the Flaxborough Mystery series by Colin Watson. The time is around 1957 or 1958. The place is the English village of Flaxborough and the surrounding countryside. We are back with Inpector Purbright, who cleared up that brothel and butchery business last year, but first we have to spend some time in the nearby town of Chalmsbury with the very unpleasant Chief Inspector Hector Larch and a cast of very quirky characters. A lot of quirky characters. Most of whom are not very likeable. For example, one prominent fellow is described as the kind of guy who would "Give her a nice smile, and then slowly pull her head off like a prawn's, and wouldn't fall out with you until he's got a grave dug ready." Hmmm.

We start right off with Councilor Oswald Pointer, Chalmsbury wholesale wine merchant, calling the police, with more than a little attitude, to report the loud noise he's just heard. Desk Sergeant Worple retaliates by being as unhelpful as he can be - you can just hear it in your head - you've either been there or done that. And Pointer, being the (un)likeable chap that he is, gets his petty little revenge after hanging up on the police by slamming his wife's bedroom door to scare her, and then pretending to be asleep when she comes to tell him she heard something.

Things are blowing-up in Chalmsbury on Tuesday evenings - a drinking fountain, a sculpture, an optician's hanging eye, and a bloody head blown off. And there is a real mystery here, not just a bunch of goofy people blowing up silly objects. Things get serious and sinister and dangerous and Inspector Larch isn't having much luck solving the mystery. So Inspector Purbright from Flaxborough is brought in to figure out who in Chalmsbury is a murderer.

But solid as the plot is and as engaging the mystery, it's the words, the words, the words that hook you and keep you hooked. Colin Watson seemed to be a firm believer in why use just one word when several will do. The way he wrote, there is no such thing as too many words. The town is populated with run-of-the-mill characters - wine merchant, haulage broker, optician, jeweler, theatre manager, newpaper editor and reporter, park keeper, as well as some not so run-of the mill: the rhymer, the chronic confessor, the genially promiscuous woman, the fit thrower, and the kleptomaniacal housekeeper. The vivid descriptions of their quirks and slightly mad, slightly dangerous interactions and practical jokes produced images that made me smile and chuckle and laugh out loud.

Just picture this: "Dignitaries: One end's so like t'other it's a wonder that when they take their hats off they're not run in for indecent exposure." "His hands clasped behind him looked like a pair of courting Flamborough crabs." "Alderman Arnold Berry was no longer regarding the wide world with that straining-at-stool expression that denotes, in the convention of public sculpture, a man of high but unpopular principles." "His reasoning was conditioned by regular absorption of the Daily Sun." "Marriage with the light on, he decided, would be rather awful." I could go on and on, but you want to read these books for yourself and enjoy these deft turns of phrase for yourself.

Bump in the Night was even more satisfying, if possible, than Coffin Scarcely Used, the first book in the series, because this time I had learned the drill: look for clues, pay close attention to the people, and even closer attention to the words.

I received a copy of Bump in the Night from NetGally and Farrago Books. I loved it, highly recommend it, and am starting Hopjoy was Here as soon as I submit this review.

Things are generally peaceful in the country town of Chelmsford until one Tuesday night when a municipal drinking fountain is blown up. On succeeding Tuesday nights, a statue of a local worthy loses its head in an explosion, and a local oculist loses his treasured premises sign which features a giant glass eye. Oddly enough the chief of police in Chelmsford is always away on Tuesday nights at the civil defense center. The town has its prime suspect, prankster and almost universally disliked Stan Biggadyke, a longtime friend of the police chief. When a life is lost in the next explosion and explosives are discovered missing at the civil defense center, the Chief Constable calls in DI Purbright of Flaxborough.

Filled with sly humor and well-drawn portraits of the various eccentric inhabitants of Chelmsford, Bump in the Night is a delightful classic mystery. Knowing that Colin Watson was a career journalist makes the character of the eager cub reporter, Len Leaper, even more enjoyable. Len's idea of being a midnight sleuth makes for some hilarious scenes.

The Chelmsford Chronicles are perfect, quick reads for fans of classic mysteries. Thanks to Farrago Books, both for bringing them back and for providing me with an advance copy; also thanks to NetGalley. The opinions are my own

In this, the second of these charming and gentle mysteries, it is not until halfway through the book that Detective Inspector Purbright is called in to investigate the mystery bombings which have been the focus of the story so far. Again his course is unrushed giving us time to appreciate the clues and the fine characterisations and, of course, Colin Watson’s intelligent wit.

This is a follow-up on the series after the last book (Coffin Scarcely Used (Flaxborough Chronicles, #1) by Colin Watson ). This was a different mystery than the ones I have read in a while and therefore was interesting to pursue.Initially though, I felt a strong undercurrent of misogynist tendencies in terms of the depiction of the women involved in the story. Towards the middle, such thoughts were attribute to slimy characters and I was able to overcome that original mild distaste.Also, since the books were written very early on and by a man (a lot of the books I have read from that period were actually written by women), I circumvented that thought and moved on to the actual appreciation of the sardonic humour presented in the tale.

This story starts off benignly enough, with a bump in the night(as the title points out). This is reported to the police though no action is taken immediately. Slowly we are given the bigger picture of the town and its inhabitants. Also, there are more small bombs detonated every week. By the time the fourth comes around there is an actual person harmed. The main hero from the last book, Detective Inspector Purbright, makes his entry almost towards the middle of the book. He is brought in order to ensure that crime is not being concealed by the higher-ups in town.There are a lot of bends in the route before all is revealed. It is the conversations and the people involved that makes this book very interesting to read.I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series that I have already downloaded onto my Kindle.

This is my second book by this author and, I believe, the second in this series. I have read the first one, and actually enjoyed this book's mystery more. It is a little ridiculous (in the vein of Father Brown), but definitely a good read and page turner!