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This page lists novels that feature the policeman Inspector Purbright.

Coffin, Scarcely Used

Colin Watson

1958

A novel in the Flaxborough series featuring Inspector Purbright.

"In the respectable seaside town of Flaxborough, the equally respectable councillor Harold Carobleat is laid to rest. Cause of death: pneumonia. But he is scarcely cold in his coffin before Detective Inspector Purbright, affable and annoyingly polite, must turn out again to examine the death of Carobleat’s neighbour, Marcus Gwill, former prop. of the local rag, the Citizen. This time it looks like foul play, unless a surfeit of marshmallows had led the late and rather unlamented Mr Gwill to commit suicide by electrocution. How were the dead men connected, both to each other and to a small but select band of other town worthies? Purbright becomes intrigued by a stream of advertisements Gwill was putting in the Citizen, for some very oddly named antique items."

Bump in the Night

Colin Watson

1960

A novel in the Flaxborough series featuring Inspector Purbright.

"Tuesday nights have suddenly turned quite ridiculously noisy in the country town of Chalmsbury, where the good folk are outraged at having their rest disturbed. It begins with a drinking fountain being blown to smithereens – next the statue of a local worthy loses his head, and the following week a giant glass eye is exploded. Despite the soft-soled sleuthing of cub reporter Len Leaper, the crime spate grows alarming. Sheer vandalism is bad enough, but when a life is lost the amiable Inspector Purbright, called in from nearby Flaxborough to assist in enquiries, finds he must delve deep into the seamier side of this quiet town’s goings on."

Hopjoy Was Here

Colin Watson

1962

A novel in the Flaxborough series featuring Inspector Purbright.

"The gripping sight of four burly policeman manhandling a bath down the front path of a respectable villa isn’t one the residents of Flaxborough see every day. Net curtains twitch furiously, and neighbours have observations to make to Chief Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love about the inhabitants of 14, Beatrice Avenue. Nice Gordon Periam, the mild-mannered tobacconist, and his rather less nice (in fact a bit of a bounder) lodger Brian Hopjoy had apparently shared the house amicably. But now neither man is to be found and something very disagreeable seems to be lurking in the drains… Then a couple of government spooks turn up, one with an eye for the ladies – the drama is acquiring overtones of a Bond movie!"

Lonelyheart 4122

Colin Watson

1967

A novel in the Flaxborough series featuring Inspector Purbright.

"Right at the bottom of the column, it was. Something for which she had not dared to hope. Not in remote, prosperous, hard-headed Flaxborough. A matrimonial bureau. Two women have disappeared in the small market town of Flaxborough. They are about the same age, both quite shy and both unmarried. As Inspector Purbright discovers the only connection between them appears to be the Handclasp House Marriage Bureau, but what begins as a seemingly straightforward missing persons case soon spirals out of control as Purbright encounters deceit, blackmail and murder."

Charity Ends at Home

Colin Watson

1968

A novel in the Flaxborough series featuring Inspector Purbright.

"My Dear Friend ... I am in great danger. The person whose loyal and faithful companion I have been ... intends to have me done away with ... When this unsigned letter is sent to three people in town none of them take it seriously. However, as with most events Inspector Purbright and the residents of Flaxborough realise that hindsight is a wonderful thing, especially when a woman is found dead in suspicious circumstances."

The Flaxborough Crab

Colin Watson

1969

A novel in the Flaxborough series featuring Inspector Purbright.

"Mrs Pasquith was the latest victim of the Flaxborough sex-fiend, although her ordeal was vocal rather than physical. There had been three incidents, all at night and with one common factor. In each case the attacker was described as "running sideways", almost like a crab. The virtue of Flaxborough's womanhood must be protected so Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love get to work. Soon they are surprised to find themselves dealing with a certain Miss Lucilla Teatime."

Broomsticks Over Flaxborough

Colin Watson

1972

A novel in the Flaxborough series featuring Inspector Purbright.

"She pranced towards the edge of the clearing, swerved and came back for another fire vault. Her hands moved in gestures of sinuous supplication... Then Mrs Pentatuke would halt on tiptoe, shut tight her eyes behind the bejewelled glasses, and cry in a rich tenor: 'O mighty spirit! We are thine! Amen evil from us deliver but!' It is the eve of Saint Walpurga and the respectable housewives of Flaxborough are dancing naked around fires. It is also brought to Inspector Purbright's attention that there are darker forces at work. This includes reports of Satanism, cult sacrifice and black magic, as well as the vicious ritual killing that shocks the town. Is there a practitioner of the dark arts in Flaxborough or is that just a smokescreen for a mere murder?"

The Naked Nuns

Colin Watson

1974

A novel in the Flaxborough series featuring Inspector Purbright.

"TWO NAKED NUNS AVAILABLE PHILADELPHIA is the strangest cable ever to come to Flaxborough. Inspector Purbright, who has coped with a few odd things in his time, finds it opens a rich lode of skullduggery, deceit and sudden death."

One Man's Meat

Colin Watson

1975

A novel in the Flaxborough series featuring Inspector Purbright.

"For lovely Julia Harton, unhappily married to a brutally successful pet food executive, a dramatic death in the fairground seems to provide a deliciously easy means of escape. But for Inspector Purbright, it is the harbinger of a bizarre and increasingly nasty case. Mysteries abound, including the precise truth behind the initials RIP, the role of Happy Endings Inc, and, not least, the exact contents of certain tins of dog food."

Blue Murder

Colin Watson

1979

A novel in the Flaxborough series featuring Inspector Purbright.

"A car mowing its way through Flaxborough market (and almost over Constable Cowdry) dramatically signals the presence of fearless, crusading journalist - Clive Grail, bent on uncovering scandal in that town's quiet and overtly respectable back streets. In answer to published hints of revelations to come, the mayor issues a challenge of a bloodcurdling and - as Inspector Purbright patiently explains - illegal nature. However, the war of threats is not the worst of it. Those who play with blue films and blackmail often find themselves involved in more than they had bargained for; and soon Purbright finds himself striving to solve a much graver and more sinister crime."

Plaster Sinners

Colin Watson

1980

A novel in the Flaxborough series featuring Inspector Purbright.

"The appreciation of antique objects is not perhaps Detective Sergeant Sidney Love's forte, yet his critical appraisal of Lot Thirty-Four - comprising two golf balls, an LMS railway tumbler, an old meat mincer, two decanter stoppers, a soap dish and a moulded relief of a cottage entitled 'At the End of Life's Lane' - at an antiques auction which sets events in motion. The sale of Lot Thirty-Four at the handsome price of £400, together with further curious developments, leads Inspector Purbright to the heart of a chilling but decidedly genteel murder mystery."

Whatever's Been Going on at Mumblesby?

Colin Watson

1982

A novel in the Flaxborough series featuring Inspector Purbright.

"The question taxing Detective Inspector Purbright's brain was whether anything untoward had been going on in the tiny village of Mumblesby. Certainly the circumstances surrounding the death of 'Rich Dick' Loughbury, the solicitor, seemed genuinely beyond suspicion. And although his widow (if that was what she was) left a certain amount to be desired socially in local eyes, and his house was stuffed with antiques acquired without bills of sale from neighbouring Mumblesby residents, there was nothing Purbright could actually put his finger on. That was, until the day of the funeral."