Usually this type of book is exactly my sort of thing: a true mystery investigated by a professional and taking place somewhere interesting. Sure enough, the mystery is clever, and suspects abound. The investigator is competent, and the place is one of those villages where anyone not born there is forever an outsider. Not to mention a seafaring angle, a long-lost daughter, and other juicy tidbits. Somehow, despite all this, I just couldn't get into it. There's a great deal of dialogue--usually a plus, and far better than endless pages of exposition. Here, though, everybody seemed to talk so very, very much. Even scenes with people who were not chatty managed to pass slowly, while showing us how unforthcoming the suspect or witness was being. The whole time I couldn't help feeling that I just wanted something to start happening--even when stuff (more crime!) was undeniably happening.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital advance review copy.

I have picked up a few books by the author previously. I may not have gotten along as well with them as my fellow bloggers - but they are entertaining in their own right, and I seldom let go of a chance to get an arc for a reprint of older mysteries.
This felt like a more dense narrative than others involving Inspector Littlejohn. It was not hard to read, kept me involved but somehow felt like a bigger book than it actually was. We have a small Island town with its own hierarchy and only connects to the world outside through a ferry system. Into this town come our duo of Inspector Littlejohn and Sergeant Cromwell. They are only partially welcomed as people eye them with suspicion. They are given half-truths, if at all, about the people surrounding the dead man. There are almost two parallel stories, one which we see unravelling and another that bears significant weight on the turn of events but is hidden for quite a while. The Police explained as much to the writer as suspect(s) who were confessing, which helped move the story forward. With multiple layers of reveals, it had me guessing. Overall it was an enjoyable case, just to see how people behave around each other based on what they actually want from the other.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

This is my first Inspector Littlejohn mystery and I enjoyed it, even though it was hard for me at first to "feel" story.
The dissapearance of Grebe, a ferry captain, is now a murder and Inspector Littlejohn and Sergeant Cromwell, from Scotland Yard, must find the truth.
I will try Inspector Littlejohn mystery soon.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this book.

What a fantastic mystery! I am a huge fan of Bellairs' Littlejohn series and this book is certainly making its way into my best of Bellairs list. Be it the wacky names (Inspector Silence, DC Powdermaker, Jumping Joe and Chickabiddy) or the setting, leave it to Bellairs to come up with a humorous murder mystery that leaves one giggling till the end.

Having read almost 30 of Bellairs titles so far, I would say the ending is excellent. It is not until the last chapter when Thomas Littlejohn assembles the suspects and points out the murderer. (Poirot, you better watch out!)

Absolutely loved every bit of this book and if you are looking for a quirky mystery classic, Death Drops the Pilot is a must read.

4.5/5

If you like Maigret, you may like Inspector Littlejohn.
Death Drops The Pilot reads remarkably like a Maigret novel, only British. Like many Maigret novels it takes place in a small, insulated village by the sea in which the protagonist, in this case Inspector Littlejohn, takes time to get to know the people and the history in order to understand the crime. Littlejohn even smokes a pipe like Maigret.

As a fan of Littlejohn I guess it's no surprise I really enjoyed this episode "Death Drops the Pilot" a seafaring one as opposed to the air sort that i had expected so that was the first surprise.
This was a case that featured his trusted righthand man Cromwell and he gets a good share of the action which I like to see personally. Captain Grebe is the death that brings the 2 men from Scotland Yard to help the police work this one out, we get to meet a wonderful assortment of characters including PC Dixon by not from Dock Green, George Bellairs find some great names and his humour is littered throughout this adventure, littered as in spread around not as in rubbish which this certainly isn't a word to go with any of this series or any of Mr Bellairs books. He seems to be a far distant to the image of a bank manager of his time (that is his other job), but then stereotypes are often wide of the mark.
But back to the book, with the villagers lack of help the battle of wits being played out the best of which being the Postman who likes to think he runs the place and enjoys hot drinks before his rounds and boiling kettles but you can read about all that yourself. I hope you do read this i enjoyed it loads plus there's a bonus chapter of another one of His books at the end to get you started.
There's a lot of sub plots that add to the story and don't drown it as some authors do but these actually turn out to be all part of the fun. I loved the twists and the plot building right thrifty to the end but that's what you always get from this author a classic to savor.

The ferry boat going from Elmer's Creek to Falbright appears to be heading out to sea, and then is grounded on a sand bank. The skipper, John Grebe, has disappeared! The next morning the skipper was found under the pier, and had been stabbed in the back. After a few days, the Chief Constable calls Scotland Yard, and Littlejohn and Cromwell arrive in Falbright and take the ferry across to stay at the Barlow Arms. They begin to find out more about the murdered skipper as well as his friends and neighbors.

There are many possible culprits for the murder. Several neighbors had used the ship, the Euryanthe, of the wealthy Tremongers, to bring Jews and their valuables from Germany to England. However, the ship had also brought dope. Also on the ship were Esther and Jack Liddell. He has died, but they weren't getting along when Jack died from a fall in the barn. Esther, a very attractive woman, runs a pub in the next town to Elmer's Creek, but she doesn't seem really happy even though all the men seem to be enamored. The mailman, Fothergill was steaming open any interesting letters and reading all the postcards, and knew too much about everyone in town, and probably blackmailing them as well. Lucy, who works in the Barlow Arms, has inherited from Grebe. Her half-brother Leo was a bank robber. Leo's father, Leo, worked with the group on the Euryanthe, and was left behind in German prison camps on the ship's last trip to Germany, thus not getting any of the money they earned.

Littlejohn and Cromwell keep interviewing and gradually get more information. They have their work cut out to figure out who did what to whom, but in his slow and careful way, all is finally solved. Littlejohn is a very likeable character who always gets his culprit.

Another study of a seaside community in the Littlejohn series, this time of the "the Wicker Man could happen here once you scratch the surface and ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ARE COUSINS" variety. The solution for the mystery plays out in about a paragraph as Bellairs is supremely uninterested in anything outside of the atmosphere of the place and a sort of comment on WWII and slow burning revenge. Cromwell gets a lot of action in this entry, which I enjoyed, the local constable is a very intriguing character, and they spend a lot of time in pubs which sounds like a dream come true. A recommend.

This was my first Inspector Littlejohn mystery. It was set in a backwater after a ferryboat captain is killed on his ferry. The characters (including the pompous Chief Constable, the shifty postman, the local squire and the gypsy-esque landlady of doubtful reputation) are mild caricatures but all the better for it.

If you enjoy a good post war mystery set in gentlet times, this may be for you!

I am about 25% into this book and I am going to DNF at this time. For me this book it too slow to get moving. While the crime has happened and the investigation is going on, I just have not found enough in the story line to keep me interested. That does not mean you might not like the book. I just need things to progress a bit faster.

George Bellairs was a great fan of Simenon and this is Inspector Littlejohn cast as Maigret in the Misty harbour of Elmer’s Creek, where the mysterious skipper of the Falbright Jenny ferry disappears from the bridge on her last run of the day and is found stabbed in the water under the pier.

Inspector Littlejohn and Sergeant Cromwell arrive to evocative smells of sea, tar, coffee and burnt toast to assist the local constabulary unravel a sordid history of corruption and decay among the notables of this marshland place. They bring their usual endearing idiosyncrasies along with gargantuan appetites for strengtho in Cromwell’s case and full English breakfasts in Littlejohn’s. Littlejohn, whose massive bulk rivals Maigret’s, is also capable of facing down the ire of the local dignitaries over lobster and trifle, followed by cheese!

Bellairs is not really able to convey the bleakness of the human condition quite the way Simenon could and did, but he writes a good story and this is an entertaining read. The vernacular speech of the locals is amusing and Bellairs enjoys parodying himself with Solemn and Jomorrah and characters such as Inspector Silence and DC Powdermaker, not to mention Sir Luke Messiah.

This is a good and harmless read by the fire on a cold night and I recommend it.

Today’s read is Bellairs’ 25th Littlejohn mystery and sees the inspector, now a Chief Inspector, heading to Falbright to investigate the baffling murder of John Grebe. He was one of the captains that piloted the Falbright Jenny, which transported passengers between Falbright and Elmer’s Creek. During the last journey of the day the passengers realise the boat is not taking its usual course and it soon runs into a sandbank. Somehow during the journey Grebe has disappeared. Later he is found in the river, stabbed in the back. From the get-go Grebe is a man with a mysterious past and when threatening postcards are discovered, it seems he was also a man with something to hide.

Overall Thoughts

Littlejohn and his colleague Sergeant Cromwell are an effective duo as usual in this mystery, though it was surprising to learn that the latter enjoyed doing yoga. Having read quite a few titles by Bellairs in the last year or two, I have learnt how to identify what motives and information are extraneous to the solution and which leads need to be followed. As such I found I bought less into the earlier parts of the investigation. Although there is a slippery clue introduced at this point, which was a nice touch.

In keeping with other Littlejohn mysteries the answer to the crime lies in the past and the backstory of the victim invariably leads a trial to the guilty party. However, an issue with this approach to creating a mystery story is that the reader cannot anticipate much of the solution or work much of it out ahead of time. Instead the narrative has to tell the reader about what happened in the past and in the case of this book the telling is quite protracted. On this occasion Bellairs provides some variation within this formula as more than one past event contributed to the recent murder, which I found interesting. Nevertheless, I think it would have been more effectively used if we could have spent more time with the relevant suspects. Spending most of our page time with Inspector Littlejohn distances us from the case somewhat and on this occasion dampens the impact of the intricate human emotions found in the solution. A more suspect focused narrative would have made these emotions more palpable.

Rating: 3.5/5

Source: Review Copy (Agora Books via Netgalley)

Death Drops the Pilot is the 25th Inspector Littlejohn mystery by George Bellairs. Originally published in 1956, this reformat and re-release from Agora Books is 280 pages and available in ebook format (other editions available in other formats). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book (and the other Agora editions) are currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

The Inspector Littlejohn books are silver age classics and always deliver a diverting and engaging read. George Bellairs was a master of intricate plot construction and this entry wears its age (nearly 65 years) surprisingly well although this entry is darker than the average for the series. This volume sees DI Littlejohn and his bagman Sgt Cromwell trying to get to the bottom of the disappearance and murder of a ferry captain (mid-trip) whilst sorting out skullduggery and leftover wartime secrets. The plotting is twisty and readers will need to pay attention to have any hope of figuring out whodunnit before Littlejohn & co. This one works fine as a standalone, and readers don't need to have read the previous books in the series to keep up with the plot.

It's really lovely to see these gems being dusted off and re-released to new generations of readers. Bellairs (Harold Blundell) was a gifted writer and a technical master of construction.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I've read some George Bellairs before and this was full of fascinating period detail, and a host of well drawn, but not very likeable characters. Chief Inspector Littlejohn investigates the murder of a ferry captain who disappears half way through his ferry's journey across the river, and finds a lot of jealousy, blackmail, scandal and smuggling. This was a good period read - I enjoyed it.

Another story set in a sleepy English village with a twisted plot and a handful of suspects. But what I felt lacking was the satire and the wry humour. The plot was also convoluted and the narrative quite slow unlike his other books.

Excellent, another case for Chief Inspector Littlejohn and his long term accomplice Sergeant Cromwell. The novel starts with the murder of Captain John Grebe who was a long term resident of Elmers Creek and one of the local ferry Masters. The local police force are getting nowhere in their efforts and call in Scotland Yard, Littlejohn and Cromwell are sent to investigate the murder and appear to be hampered at every turn, will they eventually unmask the killer?

Littlejohn does it again, with an excellently plotted mystery set on the north-west coast of England. A river ferry pilot is stabbed and thrown overboard on the last crossing of the night. The local police are stumped as the taciturn residents close ranks, so they call in Scotland Yard.

There are a great cast of characters as usual, with my particular favourites being a postman of dubious morals and a landlady who doesn’t wear underwear under her jumpers (nudge nudge). Great fun and a satisfying conclusion.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

This was not my favorite George Bellairs book. While it had flashes of humor, I didn’t enjoy the setting particularly—an English backwater populated with odd characters. And I found it slow going Still, it’s a good mystery worth reading

I was drawn into this story from the beginning when the captain sets sail and then he just disappeared. My first thought was that he was a ghost so I had to read on to find out more. He's not though. This 'needing to find out more' continued throughout the book. Brilliantly written this murder, mystery had me hooked. I do love a good 'whodunnit' and this is certainly up there with the best of them. It's part of a series so I will definitely be looking out for more from this author.

It's always a pleasure to read George Bellairs and I love his Inspector Littlejohn mysteries.
This one is gripping and highly entertaining, complex and a bit darker than usual.
Littlejohn and Cromwell are at their best and the characters we meet are flawed and experienced betrayal and got secrets.
The plot is tightly knitted and the solid mystery, full of twists and turns, kept me guessing till the end. The solution came as a surprise and I loved it.
Style of writing, descriptions of the places, character development and storytelling are excellent.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine