Review:- Colin WATSON – “Coffin, scarcely used”

Year Published: - 1958
Where the book was from:- My own copy
ISBN: - 1 84262 421 0
Pages: - 286pp
Genre: - Fun cosy crime
Location:- Lincolnshire, England
How I came across it: - Book sale at library
Rating: - ***** **
One sentence summary:- Following the funeral of Cllr Harold Carobleat the apparent;ly respectable inhabitants of Flaxborough discover that he is but the first of their number to require a coffin.

Describe the plot without giving anything away:- Inspector Purbright becomes involved and tries to work out how a series of adverts for antiques in the local newspaper impacts upon his case.

General comments:- The first in the series, this is the second Flaxborough book I’ve read – see The naked nuns


AUTHOR Notes:- Colin Watson (1920-1982)was a British writer of detective fiction and the creator of characters such as Inspector Purbright and Lucilla Teatime. He is most famous for the twelve 'Flaxborough' novels, typified by their comic and dry wit and set in a fictional small town in England.