A Little Local Murder (1976)

by Robert Barnard

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165	4	166,091	(3.21)	5
It was the worse possible time for murder. Radio Broadwich had come to do a documentary on Twytching's local charm. Mrs Withens, self-appointed arbiter of community affairs, was determined to see the town put its best foot forward. But it was a Herculean task, what with Rev Tamville-Bence holding seances; the elegant Alison Mailer using all her wiles to get interviewed on the air; and with schoolteacher Jack Edgar making eyes at the flamboyant Harold Thring, Radio Broadwich's producer. But when violent death tarnishes little Twytching's snug image, it is up to Police Inspector George Parrish to let the skeletons out of the cottage closets...and to use what old Amos Chipweather saw to catch a killer.… (more)

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In A Little Local Murder Barnard presents an amusingly drawn, quirky cast of village nuisances. The small time arbiter of village life has taken on the role of choosing who will and, more importantly, who will not appear on a radio programme about the town. Alas, the producer and an upstart doyenne have other ideas. Throw in a series of posion pen letters and all sorts of innuendo and voila. The book has Barnard's typical needling humor, though some of it leans a bit too heavily on ugly stereotypes, especially in the case of the portrayal of a gay radio producer, which considering the books publication date, 1979, is not entirely surprising. Otherwise, a fun little local murder. (

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lucybrown | Sep 27, 2015 |

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lucybrown | Sep 27, 2015 |

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lucybrown | Sep 27, 2015 |

Robert Barnard takes a typical English village and sets a cat among the pigeons as he tells a story of what a group of people will do to get there fifteen minutes of fame as they fight each other to get a spot on a local radio show.

This is one case where the supposed cream does not rise to the top, rather it curdles the milk as murder and mayhem is stirred up. (

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Condorena | Apr 2, 2013 |

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Pan Heritage Classics (4)

Scene of the Crime Mysteries

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Original publication date

1976

People/Characters

Mrs. Withens

Inspector George Parrish

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Dedication

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Disambiguation notice

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Original language

English UK

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It was the worse possible time for murder. Radio Broadwich had come to do a documentary on Twytching's local charm. Mrs Withens, self-appointed arbiter of community affairs, was determined to see the town put its best foot forward. But it was a Herculean task, what with Rev Tamville-Bence holding seances; the elegant Alison Mailer using all her wiles to get interviewed on the air; and with schoolteacher Jack Edgar making eyes at the flamboyant Harold Thring, Radio Broadwich's producer. But when violent death tarnishes little Twytching's snug image, it is up to Police Inspector George Parrish to let the skeletons out of the cottage closets...and to use what old Amos Chipweather saw to catch a killer.

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The stodgy English village of Twytching learns that the international media is coming, and some things are never quite the same again. Everyone wants to be included in the program. The radio production crew arrives in town and murder is done. The police find that someone's been sending poison pen letters.

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