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Chief Inspector Littlejohn #11
The Crime at Halfpenny Bridge
Thomas Littlejohn investigates a murder committed by the glow of a lighthouse The waterfront pub is closing up and the sailors are staggering home. World War II means a blackout in the English port town of Werrymouth, but the locals have no trouble finding their way over the Halfpenny Bridge, where a small toll shaves a mile off their drunken walk. A group of them are about to cross when a ship comes into the channel, and the lighthouse snaps on to guide its way. As the beams rake across the harbor, the sailors see two men struggling by the shore. One overpowers the other, killing him in the surf. The murderer escapes, and Detective-Inspector Littlejohn ventures down from London to find him. Two more murders follow, bringing this center of shipping to a halt just when England needs it most.
- GenresMysteryFictionHistorical
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1946
272 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
George Bellairs
73 books101 followersAKA Hilary Landon
George Bellairs is the nom de plume of Harold Blundell, a crime writer and bank manager born in Heywood, near Rochdale, Lancashire, who settled in the Isle of Man on retirement. He wrote more than 50 books, most featuring the series' detective Inspector Littlejohn. He also wrote four novels under the alternative pseudonym Hilary Landon.
George Bellairs is the nom de plume of Harold Blundell, a crime writer and bank manager born in Heywood, near Rochdale, Lancashire, who settled in the Isle of Man on retirement. He wrote more than 50 books, most featuring the series' detective Inspector Littlejohn. He also wrote four novels under the alternative pseudonym Hilary Landon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
June 25, 2018
Two family members — a wealthy but parsimonious elderly lady and her blackguard young cousin — are murdered in the same night, and Scotland Yard Superintendent Thomas Littlejohn is called in to investigate. Before all is said and done, there will be other deaths, but Littlejohn and his trusty if lugubrious sidekick, Detective-Sergeant Cromwell, meticulously dissect the facts of the case until they’ve determined who done it.
The Crime at Halfpenny Bridge contains enough twists for a rollercoaster. While not quite as good as some others in this extensive series, this ninth volume in the series still rates five stars. After all, a less than stellar Bellairs novel is still much, much, much better than the best work of most other mystery writers.
The Crime at Halfpenny Bridge contains enough twists for a rollercoaster. While not quite as good as some others in this extensive series, this ninth volume in the series still rates five stars. After all, a less than stellar Bellairs novel is still much, much, much better than the best work of most other mystery writers.
August 18, 2021
Not my favourite Bellairs mystery but still a great read.
Murder galore bring Inspector Littlejohn to a small fishing village in this book (luckily helped by Cromwell)
A bit slow and written in dialect so took a little getting use to but still a good police investigation, procedure and mystery novel.
Murder galore bring Inspector Littlejohn to a small fishing village in this book (luckily helped by Cromwell)
A bit slow and written in dialect so took a little getting use to but still a good police investigation, procedure and mystery novel.
March 25, 2021
I don't think this is one of Georges' best books but it is pretty good nevertheless. The plot was a bit thin and I did spot whodunnit. However, the descriptions of the characters, especially the coroner, were, as always, brilliant and spiced with the wit which I so much enjoy. (GB seems to have it in for coroners) He also captured the dismal and depressing feel of the town very well.
September 19, 2020
Interesting police procedural from the Littlejohn series. I like Littlejohn and Cromwell because we didn't have find out all about their personal problems. They did their jobs with a touch of humanity, letting the mystery speak for itself.
June 15, 2025
Not Bellairs' best, but a good read if you have the patience.
At 432 pages this is a VERY long book. That's especially surprising because it was published in 1946, when England was still under stringent rationing. Most books from that era are little more than 200 pages, if that.
The story is set in war-time England, when investigations were hampered by black-out regulations. Flashlights (torches to the English) were rare and not much good when you could get one. It's a dark night when a man is pushed off of a bridge in the small English port of Werrymouth and there are no searchlights to help in the recovery of the body. When they find the deader, it turns out to be a sailor whom no one will miss much.
Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is vacationing nearby, so he's assigned to what turns out to be a complicated case. Before Littlejohn can find out who pushed the late, unlamented Sam Prank, he's told that Sam's aunt has been murdered. The Prank family is not having a good day.
Harriet Prank is an elderly spinster with a house on Pleasant Street, in a neighborhood that is far from pleasant. Although she lives poorly, she inherited a nice sum from her father. Being as stingy as he was, she's probably added to it. Naturally, her relatives are anxious to get their cut of the take.
The cousin who lives with Harriet would prefer to have her money instead of Harriet's company. Sam Prank is a hard-drinking womanizer who's always broke and desperate. Both look good for the murder, but how does Sam's death fit into the puzzle?
Another nephew inherits, but he has a rock-solid alibi. He's the Worshipful Skipper of the Eccentric Order of Oddfishers and was presiding at a meeting when both Pranks died. Some people are suspicious of the local Catholic priests, since Harriet is a convert and left money to the church. Littlejohn wisely discounts this as typical anti-Catholic prejudice in a family and neighborhood which are staunchly chapel.
A shylock who loans money to sailors at criminal interest rates gets into the act, but he's soon eliminated as a suspect. Littlejohn gets some help when a guilty conscience bubbles to the surface after a local preacher's dramatic call for his congregation to REPENT and CONFESS. That solves one murder, but what about the rest of them?
An ailing, unhappily married schoolmaster is hospitalized and has something on his mind. He confesses to a murder, but did he really do it or is he protecting someone? It all ties in with Sam Prank's unexplainable allure for women and how far some of them are willing to go to hold onto him. There are letters that would be embarrassing to several people, but who's got them and who desperately wants them back?
If Sam's appeal is hard to figure out, everyone can see why men lose their senses over Nancy Emmott. Not only is she beautiful with a sweet, innocent nature, she's also the potential heiress to a prosperous local farm. Is she really as innocent as she seems and what about the stories of insanity in the Emmott family? Is someone trying to protect her or to get rid of her?
Bellairs put about three books into this one. Still, Littlejohn DOES solve all the murders and with his usual good humor and common sense. The Inspector is NOT the typical glory-grabbing detective of fiction. He's a modest man and a team player, which makes him popular with local police. It also makes his investigations more efficient.
I think this book could have been cut to good effect, but I never stopped reading. Bellairs was a good writer and I love the deft insertion of humor into his narratives. And if you don't like Inspector Littlejohn you must be very hard to please. It's worth your time if you're a Littlejohn fan, but don't make it your first in this series.
At 432 pages this is a VERY long book. That's especially surprising because it was published in 1946, when England was still under stringent rationing. Most books from that era are little more than 200 pages, if that.
The story is set in war-time England, when investigations were hampered by black-out regulations. Flashlights (torches to the English) were rare and not much good when you could get one. It's a dark night when a man is pushed off of a bridge in the small English port of Werrymouth and there are no searchlights to help in the recovery of the body. When they find the deader, it turns out to be a sailor whom no one will miss much.
Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is vacationing nearby, so he's assigned to what turns out to be a complicated case. Before Littlejohn can find out who pushed the late, unlamented Sam Prank, he's told that Sam's aunt has been murdered. The Prank family is not having a good day.
Harriet Prank is an elderly spinster with a house on Pleasant Street, in a neighborhood that is far from pleasant. Although she lives poorly, she inherited a nice sum from her father. Being as stingy as he was, she's probably added to it. Naturally, her relatives are anxious to get their cut of the take.
The cousin who lives with Harriet would prefer to have her money instead of Harriet's company. Sam Prank is a hard-drinking womanizer who's always broke and desperate. Both look good for the murder, but how does Sam's death fit into the puzzle?
Another nephew inherits, but he has a rock-solid alibi. He's the Worshipful Skipper of the Eccentric Order of Oddfishers and was presiding at a meeting when both Pranks died. Some people are suspicious of the local Catholic priests, since Harriet is a convert and left money to the church. Littlejohn wisely discounts this as typical anti-Catholic prejudice in a family and neighborhood which are staunchly chapel.
A shylock who loans money to sailors at criminal interest rates gets into the act, but he's soon eliminated as a suspect. Littlejohn gets some help when a guilty conscience bubbles to the surface after a local preacher's dramatic call for his congregation to REPENT and CONFESS. That solves one murder, but what about the rest of them?
An ailing, unhappily married schoolmaster is hospitalized and has something on his mind. He confesses to a murder, but did he really do it or is he protecting someone? It all ties in with Sam Prank's unexplainable allure for women and how far some of them are willing to go to hold onto him. There are letters that would be embarrassing to several people, but who's got them and who desperately wants them back?
If Sam's appeal is hard to figure out, everyone can see why men lose their senses over Nancy Emmott. Not only is she beautiful with a sweet, innocent nature, she's also the potential heiress to a prosperous local farm. Is she really as innocent as she seems and what about the stories of insanity in the Emmott family? Is someone trying to protect her or to get rid of her?
Bellairs put about three books into this one. Still, Littlejohn DOES solve all the murders and with his usual good humor and common sense. The Inspector is NOT the typical glory-grabbing detective of fiction. He's a modest man and a team player, which makes him popular with local police. It also makes his investigations more efficient.
I think this book could have been cut to good effect, but I never stopped reading. Bellairs was a good writer and I love the deft insertion of humor into his narratives. And if you don't like Inspector Littlejohn you must be very hard to please. It's worth your time if you're a Littlejohn fan, but don't make it your first in this series.
March 6, 2023
3.5 stars. Exactly what it says on the tin: in the dead of night in 1943, three people witness a murder in the automated beams of a lighthouse. Two of the witnesses are drunk, having just left the pub before closing time, and the other is the tollgate keeper on a nearby bridge, who rushes to pull the body from the water. Moments later, another hue and cry of murder is heard, as a local elderly woman is found dead in her home by her neice.
Two dead bodies - of two relatives - in the space of a few minutes is too much for the local constable, so Scotland Yard is called in to assist. Littlejohn and Cromwell arrive on the scene and start to investigate. Family trees have deep roots in this little village; one of the motives becomes fairly clear at the outset, while the other requires digging into piles of dirty linen.
This was a good example of Bellairs' formula, of sending his MCs into a quirkly English village to pry the secrets from the reticent people. The local bobby is an asset, which helps. Littlejohn and Cromwell once again provide excellent teamwork to tackle the mystery. The whodunit of the second murder becomes rather obvious, but the author throws in a last-minute twist that did have me wondering. This is a rare book where the killer , so there's that satisfaction as well. The murderer's motive was extra twisted. Littlejohn and Cromwell couldn't give their backs to that village fast enough once the case was solved, LOL.
I've read this series in a scattershot manner, and it continues to be quite entertaining. I really like Littlejohn and Cromwell, and look forward to reading more of their adventures.
Two dead bodies - of two relatives - in the space of a few minutes is too much for the local constable, so Scotland Yard is called in to assist. Littlejohn and Cromwell arrive on the scene and start to investigate. Family trees have deep roots in this little village; one of the motives becomes fairly clear at the outset, while the other requires digging into piles of dirty linen.
This was a good example of Bellairs' formula, of sending his MCs into a quirkly English village to pry the secrets from the reticent people. The local bobby is an asset, which helps. Littlejohn and Cromwell once again provide excellent teamwork to tackle the mystery. The whodunit of the second murder becomes rather obvious, but the author throws in a last-minute twist that did have me wondering. This is a rare book where the killer , so there's that satisfaction as well. The murderer's motive was extra twisted. Littlejohn and Cromwell couldn't give their backs to that village fast enough once the case was solved, LOL.
I've read this series in a scattershot manner, and it continues to be quite entertaining. I really like Littlejohn and Cromwell, and look forward to reading more of their adventures.
June 2, 2020
Three murders, two suicides, blackmail, madness and mayhem all feature in this tenth outing for Littlejohn and Cromwell. Numerous pregnant women also appear- the wartime baby boom, perhaps?
There are two wonderful and colourful scenes set in the local school and the evangelical chapel, and some very descriptive writing about life among the working-classes in a seaport. You can almost smell the mixture of ozone and greasy fish and chips and the fug of the moneylender's shop.
As often with Bellairs, the love of money is at the root of the evils perpetrated, and love in various forms, licit and illicit, also plays a part.
Littlejohn is neatly led up the garden path by a very malicious and conniving murderer, until inspiration comes and a confrontation forces out the truth.
Highly enjoyable.
There are two wonderful and colourful scenes set in the local school and the evangelical chapel, and some very descriptive writing about life among the working-classes in a seaport. You can almost smell the mixture of ozone and greasy fish and chips and the fug of the moneylender's shop.
As often with Bellairs, the love of money is at the root of the evils perpetrated, and love in various forms, licit and illicit, also plays a part.
Littlejohn is neatly led up the garden path by a very malicious and conniving murderer, until inspiration comes and a confrontation forces out the truth.
Highly enjoyable.
June 26, 2021
This volume of the investigations of Inspector Littlejohn takes place in a harbour town during the second world war. The description of a poor neighborhood where one of the murders takes place is a vivid set piece, an almost Dickensian slice of novelistic anthropology, and there is the usual cast of vivid supporting characters. The two mysteries are slowly, methodically unravelled and there is a thrilling denouement. Along the way, we visit a seedy newspaper shop, several pubs, a busy hospital, an equally busy church, a veterinary practice, a school, some private residences and a farm - all of which are chances for Bellairs to exercise his considerable powers of conjuring a setting and the people in it.
October 2, 2020
I think Bellairs improved as he wrote more books. I like "period pieces" and this is one of them. It is an interesting one, well written, fairly complex plot, interesting characters. "Classic" English mysteries. Some are better than others. I like the Albert Campion stories, for instance. I like Littlejohn, though we don't know all that much about him. He seems a lot like some of our other favorite fictional Brit inspectors. This is not Christie and not "great literature" but it is definitely worth reading with a cuppa on a cold night.
October 28, 2018
Early Bird Book Deal | This book includes a totally unnecessary and extraneous murder. | I read this during a particularly bad time in my personal life, so it was basically impossible for it to be a complete success for me. One murder could have been left out entirely. The final result was actually a pretty good one, not formulaic or obvious.
July 20, 2022
It's confirmed: I'm a George Bellairs fan!
This is the second Inspector Littlejohn book I've been privileged to read, and it did not disappoint! While the humor was not as prevalent in this story, the mystery was very strong, and the pace of the action was compelling! Great characters and flashes of the Bellairs humor made this a wonderful read that I had trouble putting down!
This is the second Inspector Littlejohn book I've been privileged to read, and it did not disappoint! While the humor was not as prevalent in this story, the mystery was very strong, and the pace of the action was compelling! Great characters and flashes of the Bellairs humor made this a wonderful read that I had trouble putting down!
July 20, 2025
A good read with lots of humorous episodes - I enjoyed when the constable on his bicycle got "abducted" into a road racing team, and the chaos of an inquest which quickly gets out of control. If you like your mysteries with a bit of craziness thrown in (like Manning Coles), this is for you. One odd habit of this writer is to leave the verbs out of some of his sentences - a bit disconcerting...
December 27, 2018
A man is seen hitting another man by a couple of drunken sailors and the keeper of the half-penny bridge. Littlejohn and his team have to figure out who the man is and what happened.
Well-written. Good classic mystery.
Well-written. Good classic mystery.
December 1, 2020
It is possible to feel the old school writing style of this book and that is a plus. It a tight story with excellent development of eccentric characters. Lots of fun to read with no pointless violence.
May 15, 2021
An interesting mystery set in a small village in England during the Second World War. This is a somewhat typical Agatha Christie type story set in the usual small town or village and is well worth reading.
May 16, 2022
Murder old style
Inspector Littlejohn ranks among the best. This particular story had wonderful twists and turns. The story centers around the Halfpenny Bridge and paints an amazing picture of the surrounding village.
Inspector Littlejohn ranks among the best. This particular story had wonderful twists and turns. The story centers around the Halfpenny Bridge and paints an amazing picture of the surrounding village.
January 22, 2024
Good, intriguing mystery
The mystery had a number of twists and turns. The characters were interesting. Somewhat misogynistic, and stereotypes about. The ugly and simpler characters are considered bad ones. Usually the beautiful and the rich are often the good ones.
The mystery had a number of twists and turns. The characters were interesting. Somewhat misogynistic, and stereotypes about. The ugly and simpler characters are considered bad ones. Usually the beautiful and the rich are often the good ones.
January 25, 2018
So many twists
This was a great little read! There are twist & turns that the reader merger saw coming. Now, of course I'm going to read the next book of inspector Littlejohn.
This was a great little read! There are twist & turns that the reader merger saw coming. Now, of course I'm going to read the next book of inspector Littlejohn.
July 8, 2018
Psychology in this one
A very interesting tale of greed and jealousy. I loved the way it unfolded. Interesting characters, Bellairs humor always is sharp
A very interesting tale of greed and jealousy. I loved the way it unfolded. Interesting characters, Bellairs humor always is sharp
July 28, 2018
Red herrins
Lots of red herrings.even the inspector is confused until the end. Satisfactory ending. I do men these books by George Bellairs
Lots of red herrings.even the inspector is confused until the end. Satisfactory ending. I do men these books by George Bellairs
December 10, 2018
A good mystery, though Bellairs is sometimes guilty of purple prose. However, he does give one of the best descriptions of a "revival" frenzy I have ever read.
January 31, 2019
One of Bellairs' best. Fantastic descriptions and interior monologue. Neat twists and turns in the plot.
November 12, 2020
Would recommend. Interesting double murder takes som interesting twists. It is very refreshing to read a well written book where the author can relate a detailed description without profanity.
June 11, 2021
This is my first Littlejohn and Cromwell novel. Set in a seaside town,, it is full of local color. The mystery is interesting and intricate, but not too much so, and the end is action-packed.
April 8, 2022
Bellairs is always excellent.
March 30, 2023
Not my favourite In the series as it seemed to drag along. Hopefully future books will be better
August 16, 2023
Three murders, blackmail and a family drama. Bellairs has a sharp eye for village and small time life as well as grotesque characters which occasionally runs away from him.
September 16, 2023
Nothing exceptional, but diverting and fun.
May 13, 2018
Typical early Bellairs. Not his best but not a bad read nevertheless.
August 1, 2020
Two members of the same family die on the same night - and one of the murders is witnessed. This is a good, clever classic crime mystery. I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews