Another excellent mystery by one of my favorite Inspectors (Littlejohn)! A very entertaining and clever tale with many false trails to clear before finding the whole truth. Excellent characters and a great plot! This is my fourth or 5th by Mr. Bellair's intriguing mysteries and I intend to read them all!

What a hilarious and mind-blowing story by Bellairs! This is the third Bellairs book that I read and did I like it? I Loved it!!! There's something about his writing that makes all his stories unique. Be it the quirky characters and their quirky doings, or the mystery - simply superb!

Superintendent Simpole is not as simple as his name sounds! The coroner at the inquest is a weirdo. How? He loves his records. Even when the court proceedings are going on, he hums: Pom, pom, pompom... pink, pank, ponk... In the previous book that I read - Corpses in Enderby, there's a craftsman who goes: tap, tap, tap tidity... tap, tap, tap, tidity... You just can't get these 'tunes' out of your head, can you? Pom, pom, pompom!

Within the first half of the book, there are four murders! Not one, two or three - four!!! And all these seem to be connected somehow. Chief Inspector Littlejohn, in the end, puts two and two together and solves the mystery. There is something about the stolen items from a museum years ago, a case of tarantism (caused when bitten by tarantulas) and cocky dick potions.

As icing on the cake is Meg - Littlejohn's adopted a dog! How cute is that! Although she makes a guest appearance in the story, still... The characters are super quirky and the mystery is quirkier. The story is engaging and entertaining with a mysterious and twisted ending. Oh yes, there are a couple of twists in the end which are definitely not to be missed.

Bellairs' writing style is unique. I love stories that have a tinge of quirky humor in them and this book was just that! If you are looking for a crime classic with a mysterious twist (and oodles of quirkiness), then do check out this book and you will not be disappointed.

This book reads like it was recently published. Only after devouring it did I find out it was originally published in the early 1950s! It reminds me of Agatha Christie books with Inspector Littlejohn and his small town with all its nosey citizens. This is wonderful cozy mystery for a cold weekend!

Littlejohn is a wonderful mystery character. He is competent without being obtrusive, but always solves the crimes with humor and intelligence.

Judge Nicholas Crake falls with a high fever when out shooting. He asks to be taken to his sister, Beatrice Kent's house rather than his own. However, his wife, Dulcie, immediately rushes to his bedside. He dies of pneumonia the next day. Nicolas and Beatrice have been very close. Unfortunately, Dulcie has had several lovers, including Beatrice's husband Arthur. Shortly after the funeral, Dulcie is found in her home, Beyle, with a knife in her heart. The Crakes had a daughter Nita, and a son Alec, although it seems Alec's father is actually the lawyer for the family, Mr. Trotman. There are further complications as Dulcie's brother, Uncle Bernard has been living with the family, dealing drugs, doing experiments, and hiding from the Spanish police.

Inspector Littlejohn is staying with a former colleague nearby, and just happens to be walking his dog by Beyle, when Nita runs out the door and faints. When he takes her in the house he finds Arthur dead. The local police had already called in Scotland Yard and named Littejohn since he was already there. Thus, Littlejohn already had three murders to solve, and they weren't all. Later, the Superintendent of Police, Simpole, is found in his home, having hung himself. It seems he has also been an admirer of Dulcie, and unable to get his letters back. The major instigators of all this crime are money and love, and it is a complicated task for Littlejohn to learn all!

George Bellairs is the prolific author of the Inspector Littlejohn mysteries. I’ve read over 20 in the series and this is among my favorites. Bellairs writes in the Golden Age tradition, with a likeable and insightful detective, assisted by the able and equally affable Sergeant Cromwell. The writing is elegant and economical, the mysteries are well plotted, and the characters are interesting.

This novel finds Littlejohn on the spot of a murder while on vacation. He is assigned the case and investigates murders within a family and community full of strange and haunted characters. Littlejohn and Cromwell follow the twists and turns of the investigation to an exciting and satisfying conclusion.

If you are looking for a elegantly-written mystery in the classic tradition, I would highly recommend this one.

Another credit to the Littlejohn series of books and joined on the case by his able assistant Cromwell helping to sort out the mess in Tilsey. There are plenty of suspects some great characters leading to a real page turner,
LittleJohn is spending some time staying with his old boss now running a pub in Tilsey when first a gentleman Nick Crake dies followed by his wife then we'll I will let you read that for yourself. Tilsey is a normal English Market Town that has a centuries worth of action in a few long weeks. The gossips are happy but those connected are well I said there are characters in Tilsey and the biggest question are there any normal folk. There is the bad boy drinking his way through life and the girls, his Sister sweet but strong, a mad uncle that came for a holiday and never left. Plus the pompous solicitor the shop keeper and his bitter assistant who hoped to marry the bosses daughter and well some others that will keep you entertained.
I enjoyed this book and hope you do the humour is nicely mixed with the suspense and drama that will make it hard to put down plus will keep you on the edge of your seat.
If you like mid 20th century crime stories then you should love this one. In my view that is.

I love George Bellairs' writing and am grateful to be on the advanced readier/reviewer list for the novels being republished by his estate. This particular book, Crime in Leper's Hollow, is shown in some places as the seventh Inspector Littlejohn story, but having been published originally in 1952 it should be much further down the list than that. It's a typical Bellairs tale set in an English village with plenty of characters and plenty to keep the police involved. Yet again Littlejohn is on holiday and just falls into the enquiry from the start. What I particularly enjoyed in this book were the little bits that don't really matter to the story. The short biography of the future of a maid who opened the door to the Inspector, and the description of the undelivered mail on the post master's office were totally irrelevant and unnecessary but so very charming because of this.

5 stars

Nicholas Crake dies under mysterious circumstances. His wife Dulcie Crake, of Spanish origin, is a classic. She sleeps around and flirts with any man she happens upon. Her behavior following the death of Nicholas is very odd. Dulcie's brother Bernard fancies himself an alchemist and experiments on animals. The daughter Nita is the one who breaks into dramatic scenes and has very mercurial emotions. She was very close to her father Nicholas, but is highly dramatic. Her brother Alec is a self-indulgent, spoiled mama's boy.

Inspector Littlejohn and his wife are spending the Christmas holidays of 1952 at a retired Scotland Yard Chief Constable Shelldrake's home in Tilsey when he and his dog happen upon the sight of a young woman fainting. He carries her inside the nearby home where he happens upon a storm of accusations and dramatic scenes. Dulcie Crake has been murdered. There Littlejohn meets the police officer in charge named Simpole who acts officious and is more than a little abrupt.

Littlejohn returns to Shelldrake's and learns that he is now in charge of the investigation of not only Dulcie Crake's murder, but also her husband Nicholas Crake's suspicious death just days earlier. Inspector Lttlejohn is joined by his Sergeant Cromwell. They begin to investigate the case and learn of the extreme “eccentricities” of the Crake family. Patiently following the clues, Littlejohn and Cromwell uncover scandalous secrets and torrid affairs. In a dramatic conclusion, they catch a killer.

This is an enjoyable old time mystery. I really like the Litlejohn/Cromwell mysteries. They make a fine pair. Littlejohn is intelligent and determined in a time before all the added benefits of the forensic sciences and computers available today. It is a refreshing view of a police procedural. I am very much looking forward to the re-release of the next Littlejohn mystery.

I want to thank NetGalley and Agora Books for forwarding to me a copy of this delightful book for me to read, enjoy and review.