Hopjoy was Here by Colin Watson

[Susan]

Published in 1962, this is the third in the Flaxborough series.

The gripping sight of four burly policemen 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!

Please do not post spoilers in this thread - thank you.

[Judy]

I finished this one a few days ago, and it is certainly very unusual - a cross between a mystery and a sort of James Bond spoof, so quite different from the other books in the Flaxborough series which we have read previously!

Who else is reading this one? To be honest, it wasn't really to my taste, as I didn't quite get the humour, but it's certainly clever and different.

[Rosina]

I have just re-read it - for at least the third time, of course: once recently, on rediscovering the Flaxborough series, and once all those years ago, when I first read them.

It is definitely different, but I enjoy the humour and the Bond-esque mockery. The mystery is genuine, and (view spoiler)[the denouement works for me (just as well, since a conviction might have been difficult ...) (hide spoiler)]

[Judy]

Rosina, glad you enjoyed it. Please could you put your last paragraph in spoiler tags or move to the spoiler thread, just to be on the safe side as it mentions the denouement? Thank you.

[Rosina]

Judy wrote: "Rosina, glad you enjoyed it. Please could you put your last paragraph in spoiler tags or move to the spoiler thread, just to be on the safe side as it mentions the denouement? Thank you."

I have done so - sorry about that!

[Judy]

Thanks, Rosina, that's fine. :)

[Sandy]

I read this last month and enjoyed the humor a great deal. A James Bond spoof is a great description, with an actual solvable mystery included.

Humor is such a personal taste. Someone I know didn't like A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail which is one of my humor highlights.

[Jill]

I finished this today, and I was definitely mislead along the way. However I didn't find it as entertaining humour-wise as the previous two books. I do like Rosina's description as "Bond-esque mockery".

[Judy]

What did anyone think of the opening with the bath? I found this pretty gruesome for a light murder mystery, though obviously essential to the plot!

[Sandy]

Judy wrote: "What did anyone think of the opening with the bath? I found this pretty gruesome for a light murder mystery, though obviously essential to the plot!"

Yep, gruesome. Lightened by picturing police manhandling the bathtub.

[Jill]

I thought the opening was pretty funny with all the neighbours watching behind their curtains and the children gathering round . Thought it was typical for a village at that time. Nowadays people would probably be glued to their TV screens.

[Rosina]

With so many of the Golden Age detectives concentrating on crimes committed by the upper echelons of society, with the rest of the population relegated to valeting and making tea, it is good to read about crime among 'ordinary' people.

There is a good mixture of gruesome reality and humour, some of it rather tasteless, admittedly. I liked that Watson had thought about, and dealt with, the practical problems of dissolving bodies in acid.

[Pamela]

I am just about to,start this one, I haven't read the second one yet, but I think I'll just jump in to this one anyway (cover your eyes, Susan!)

[Judy]

I don't think it will matter at all, Pamela - really a standalone in all but the detective's name!

[Susan in NC]

I started this and enjoyed the first few chapters, but didn’t quite get a lot of the humor in the scene with the two London guys (MI5?) I had some library books to finish, might give this another try.

[Pamela]

Judy wrote: "I don't think it will matter at all, Pamela - really a standalone in all but the detective's name!"

Thanks Judy, I was hoping that was the case!