John Buxton Hilton (1921–1986)

No murder, but a very good small English village character study. This is the last of Greenwood.s Mosley series, and it’s too bad; Mosley is an engaging and complex Detective Inspector. The mystery here involves stolen property. Recommended for anyone who loves British mysteries, but would like something out of the ordinary.

The Mind of Mr. Mosley is a cozy, funny mystery. Farcical, even. Inspector Mosley is a placid but determined man, who quietly carries on his investigation with absolutely no regard for police procedures, to the consternation of his superior officers.

"If Mosley had put pen to paper about a routine visit, it would have meant that he was covering his flanks in preparation for something even more than usually devious, something that could only herald trouble in the remote future."

Mosley has show more reservations about a suicide in Upper Crudshaw. He sets things into motion before going on a two-week vacation, and while he's gone all hell breaks loose. Upon his return, he pulls all the strings together, gets everything straightened out, and sits cozily at home while the truly ridiculous climax plays out.

This was a fun, rather silly book, although it got pretty complicated at times. The title is deceptive, because there is very little insight into the workings of Mosley's mind. show less

An alderman was murdered in a small English town and Scotland Yard is called in to solve the mystery. We quickly discover that the alderman was a terrible person and, to give it almost all away, was killed by someone decent enough to realize that the man didn't deserve to live. The story and characters kept my interest, although the dialogue was sometimes inscrutable because I'm not familiar enough with the English slang used. But there was nothing especially memorable.

First in a series about a British country policeman very familiar with his local area and its people, rather despised by his modern young assistant, but surprisingly (to the assistant, not to anyone familiar with the genre) effective.