Genrre: Mystery
[Hardcover; Paperback; Audio Cassette;] Digital Book
ISBN #: 9789997409119; 9780571252015; 9780745164359
[Faber & Faber]; Farrago Publishing
160 Pages
[Various Prices] $3.99 Amazon
[1967] April 5, 2018
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Whatever happened to Lil?
Flaxborough butcher Arthur Spain is worried that his sister-in-law hasn't been in touch lately, so he pays her a visit. But Lil's not at home, and by her porch door are a dozen bottles of curdling milk...Alarmed, he calls the local police, D.I. Purbright and his ever-reliable Sergeant Sid Love.
It transpires Lillian Bannister is the second middle-aged woman in the town to mysteriously vanish, and the link is traced to a local lonely hearts agency called Handclasp House. So when a vulnerable-seeming lady with the charming title of Lucy Teatime signs up for a romantic rendezvous, the two detectives try extra hard to look out for her. But Miss Teatime has a few surprises of her own up her dainty sleeve!
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When a local butcher visits Detective Inspector Purbright with the tale of his missing sister-in-law Lillian, Purbright remembers that recently another woman about the same age had gone missing. After searching Lillian’s home, he finds three letters from a suitor and a checkbook with a check made out to a local matrimonial agency, and he recalls the previous mission woman had also done the same.
After visiting the agency, Handclasp House, he acquires the name of a new client, Lucy Teatime. He sets his sergeant, Sid Love, to keep an eye on the lady in question while he searches for answers. Upon further investigation, he learns that there was a break-in at the the agency, and that the amiable Miss Teatime has been able to elude not only Sergeant Love, but another officer as well.
Convinced that the man who is courting Miss Teatime - for he is sure there is a man - is the same one who had courted the other two ladies who have still not been found, he is more than ever sure that there is a con artist at work who is not only fleecing these women of whatever means they have, but that he has something to do with their disappearance as well. And while it seems that Miss Teatime is sure the man she is seeing is not the same one Purbright has warned her against, he is. But will she be able to save herself before she meets the same fate, or will Purbright fail in rescuing her?
Once again we are visiting the market town of Flaxborough and the domain of Detective Inspector Purbright, and once again he is on the trail of a criminal, this time a man who joins a lonelyhearts club in order to fleece vulnerable women of their savings and then dispose of them. But he’s been elusive so far, and since he manages to change his appearance, no one can give a description. He also manages to meet in public places that seem ordinary at first, but in being so, no one pays him nor the lady much attention at all; and this is why his scheme has managed to foster so well.
But this time he’s come across two formidable adversaries: Purbright and the redoubtable Miss Teatime, who is nobody’s fool. In fact, Miss Teatime has a few secrets and surprises of her own which he doesn’t count on. It is once again a tale well-written with memorable characters who are lively and well-drawn, and a delight to read about.
When the ending comes we are given the requisite surprises that Mr. Watson manages to do so well; I would suggest that anyone reading his books does not jump to the end to sneak a peak at the outcome; it is so much more fun if you read the entire book through. I absolutely love these books and am looking forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.
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