The Body in the Dumb River

 The Body in the Dumb River (1961) by George Bellairs (Harold Blundell)

Superintendent Thomas Littlejohn is spending the night in Fenshire after helping tie up loose ends in a forgery case with connections to London. It's been raining cats and dogs and when the torrential rains bring to light a man's corpse (stabbed--not drowned), the Chief Constable takes advantage of having the Yard man on the spot. The body is quickly identified as belonging to Jim Lane, a man who ran a hoop-la stand and traveled from fair to fair. Why would anyone want to stab a fair showman to death?

It doesn't take Littlejohn long to discover that Lane was leading a double-life--running hoop-la during the week and running home to his home in Yorkshire where he's known as James Teasdale. And it takes even less time (after meeting the family back home) for the superintendent to understand why Teasdale might have wanted a different life. Littlejohn's instincts tell him that the answer to Teasdale's death lies in Yorkshire and the contents of the man's stomach prove him right. He was killed not long after taking afternoon tea at home and there was no way he could have made it back to Ely based on the progress of digestion. 

Teasdale's family spends little time actually mourning him; they're more concerned about the scandal surrounding his double-life. We're left to wonder whether one of them thought murder better than disgrace. Then blackmail rears its ugly head and when the blackmailer disappears (after having tried it on with Teasdale before his death), it looks like Littlejohn may have a second murder on his hands. But which of the family did it? And why?

I may be a bit of an outlier (among GAD fans) on this one, but I didn't find this to be one of Bellair's strongest efforts. On the plus side, he (as always) provides terrific character sketches, but what characters. There isn't a member of Teasdale's family (or, rather, his wife's family) who is a pleasant character. I wouldn't want to invite any of them home for tea. And, it amazes me how sympathetic Littlejohn is to this crew. Bellairs also gives good descriptions of the countryside and small towns. The plot is a decent one...except for the ending. I'm a trifle disappointed with how justice is meted out. It may seem like one of the characters gets their just desserts, even if no one winds up behind bars (it's spoiler territory to describe the "just desserts"), but I'd be a lot more satisfied if someone had been officially punished for the crime. Poor Jim Teasdale--just when it seemed like he'd found a bit of happiness, it all came to a violent end. Someone really needs to pay for that. ★★ and 3/4 (just can't bring myself to give a full three)

First line: "Are you awake, Littlejohn?"

Last line: Littlejohn often wonders how long the trio of sisters will have to wait for their inheritance. Elvira, Phoebe, and Chloe.
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Deaths = 4 (one stabbed; one drowned; one natural; one fell from height)

The Methods of Sergeant Cluff

 The Methods of Sergeant Cluff (1961) by Gil North (Geoffrey Horne)

Sergeant Cluff has a murder on his hands. It's the murder of a young woman and the obvious suspect is the young man who has been dangling after her. The girl had more money and better clothes than her job at the local pharmacy would allow and everyone assumed that she was making money at night. In the ways that ladies of the night might make such money. And everyone in town assumes that the lovelorn young man couldn't stand what she was doing and didn't respond well to her rebuffs. Well, neither I nor Sergeant Cluff were ready to believe the obvious. I went looking for clues. I'm not sure what Cluff was looking for. He wasn't all that communicative. You see...

One of Sgt. Cluff's methods seems to be to keep the identity of the victim a secret (from the reader, anyway) as long as possible. I love it when the story starts with a bang--murder up front and we're off and running on the investigation. So...we get that. But do we get to know who she is? Nope. Cluff knows, but he's not telling (and won't let his inspector tell us either). [And--just so you know--the library thoughtlessly plastered their barcode sticker over the part of the blurb where I think the name is revealed. So, having bought this at the library used book shop, I'm in darkness until somebody decides to mention the girl's name.] Ah...finally...she has a name! But not until Cluff had wandered all over town.

"She's--" Mole started to say, opening the handbag.

"I know who she is," Cluff stopped him.

Mole pushed the envelope he was pulling out back in the bag. "Of course," he said bitterly. "I was forgetting. You were born and bred in these parts. You know everybody."

Other methods seemed to include elliptical conversations with all the people he meets. Conversations where the eavesdropper (that would be the reader) feels like they have poor reception on a cell phone and are missing half or more of the conversation. Most of his "interviews" don't seem to make sense. I didn't see the ending coming and I honestly don't know how anyone could. Cluff didn't even figure it out...he only knows the final solution because he played eavesdropper outside a door and overheard the murderer confess. 

To say that I'm underwhelmed with Sergeant Cluff would be an understatement. To say that I have another of the Cluff books on the TBR pile and I'm not at all sure I want to read it would very accurate. This one, however, is going out the door--re-donated to the Friends of the Library Bookstore. Maybe somebody else will appreciate Sergeant Cluff more than me. ★★ and I think I may be a bit generous.

First line: The constable watched him swing across the deserted High Street, from the corner by the church.

More than facts was in question here, the intangible, invisible passions of human beings. Facts could have one meaning to Mole, another to Barker, still another to Cluff. It wasn't facts that mattered, but what lay behind the facts.

Last line: He added, before he was too far away for Barker to hear, "Where's the Sergeant got to, anyway?"
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Deaths = two hit on head

Treasure of Hemlock Mountain

 Treasure of Hemlock Mountain (1961) by Virginia Frances Voight

Charlene Fairhill is hoping to break into singing showbiz. She's just made friends with local boy turned singing idol, Dan Harris, and she hopes his connections will help her launch her own singing career. But her family has other plans...her father needs to go away for a rest, so she and her father  are headed to the lonely Maine cabin that used to belong to her uncle (and now belongs to her father). She'll be gone the whole summer. And so much can happen in a summer. 

There's a rumor that a lost cave of amethysts is on the land that used Bill Fairhill. Maybe she'll find buried treasure. There's also various boys vying for her attention--reliable Peter--her constant escort; Dan the handsome singer; and Eric the new young man she meets on Hemlock mountain. Maybe she'll find true love. And, of course, there's Dan's band and the promise of an audition with his manager. Maybe she'll find her career. Or maybe she'll find out that there's even more on offer. Charlene has a summer of mystery and adventure ahead--all leading to a lonely night spent lost on the mountain and a surprise she could never have dreamed up.

This is the type of story I might have enjoyed more when I was a teenager myself. At this point in life, I would have liked the mystery side of things to have a bit more meat to it. It's a pretty straight-forward treasure hunt with a side of coming-of-age for Charlene. An easy, fast read that was enjoyable enough, but not one that I see myself ever revisiting. ★★★

First line: Charlene Fairhill's escort to the June younger members' dance at the country club was Peter Kenn, not an exciting datec for Peter and she had grown up together like close cousins.

Last line: Suddenly she felt she couldn't wait for the next door to open.
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Deaths = one accident

The 1961 Club

 

From April 13-19th, April of Kaggy's Bookish Rambles and Simon at Stuck in a Book are sponsoring a read/blog-athon featuring books published in 1961. All you have to do is read at least one book from 1961 and post about it--that's it.

Here are the unread 1961 books on my TBR mountain range--we'll see what takes my fancy next week.

The Delights of Detection by Jacques Barzun

The Body in the Dumb River by George Bellairs (4/16/26)

A House Possessed by Charity Blackstock

The Demoniacs by John Dickson Carr

Death in Cold Print by John Creasey

The Scene of the Crime by John Creasey

My Brother's Killer by Dominic Devine

Bachelors Get Lonely by A. A. Fair

Shills Can't Cash Chips by A. A. Fair

After the Verdict by Anthony Gilbert

Experiment in Terror by The Gordons

12 Stories for Late at Night as edited by Alfred Hitchcock

Footsteps in the Night by Dolores Hitchens

Marry in Haste by Jane Aiken Hodge

The Mysterious Code by Kathryn Kenny

Six Black Camels by Edwin Lanham

Banking on Death by Emma Lathen

Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seicho Matsumoto

The Methods of Sergeant Cluff by Gil North (4/13/26)

The First Body by Laurence Payne

Murder Clear, Track Fast by Judson Phillips

The Lady in Cement by Anthony Rome

Requiem for a Schoolgirl by Ivan T. Ross

The Man Who Looked Death in the Eye by Hampton Stone

The Chinese Nail Murders by Robert Van Gulik

The Red Pavilion by Robert Van Gulik

Treasure of Hemlock Mountain by Virginia Frances Voight (4/11/26)

Faculty of Murder by June Wright