You might take a quick glance at the cover of this book and believe it to be one of the British Library Crime Classics so current at the moment. For the art work is reminiscent of that grand series. The title, too, wouldn’t be out of a place on, maybe, a John Bude fiction. But, no, this is a very contemporary piece of work from an experienced and competent writer.
It is a glorious homage to an age that might be deemed historical for some readers but there are those of us who were there on the cusp of the sixties, if only as minors!! The nature of the titular play on words gives a clue to this almost but not quite farcical romp in a Devonshire seaside resort. However this is a deceptively multi layered book.
It is the second Miss Dimont story and the meat of the book is the murder mystery and the quite ingenious plot which is well structured and keeps the reader guessing until the final denouement. But the accompanying sub plots, richly populated with some quirky and endearing characters, flesh the book out for some light relief. After all murder is a serious business. There are many stereotypical caricatures and cliches but I am sure they are all intentionally so. I will confess that when I began the book i really wasn’t sure but as i was drawn in it became quite delightful and at times downright amusing. If I am honest I did find it a little over wordy, not everything furthered the plot, but that was possibly not the intention.
And as we withdraw from the summer into autumn and then winter those with pangs of regret may enjoy a good old yarn set in the blistering heat of summer.
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