The Body in the Dumb River

 The Body in the Dumb River (1961) by George Bellairs (Harold Blundell)

Superintendent Thomas Littlejohn is spending the night in Fenshire after helping tie up loose ends in a forgery case with connections to London. It's been raining cats and dogs and when the torrential rains bring to light a man's corpse (stabbed--not drowned), the Chief Constable takes advantage of having the Yard man on the spot. The body is quickly identified as belonging to Jim Lane, a man who ran a hoop-la stand and traveled from fair to fair. Why would anyone want to stab a fair showman to death?

It doesn't take Littlejohn long to discover that Lane was leading a double-life--running hoop-la during the week and running home to his home in Yorkshire where he's known as James Teasdale. And it takes even less time (after meeting the family back home) for the superintendent to understand why Teasdale might have wanted a different life. Littlejohn's instincts tell him that the answer to Teasdale's death lies in Yorkshire and the contents of the man's stomach prove him right. He was killed not long after taking afternoon tea at home and there was no way he could have made it back to Ely based on the progress of digestion. 

Teasdale's family spends little time actually mourning him; they're more concerned about the scandal surrounding his double-life. We're left to wonder whether one of them thought murder better than disgrace. Then blackmail rears its ugly head and when the blackmailer disappears (after having tried it on with Teasdale before his death), it looks like Littlejohn may have a second murder on his hands. But which of the family did it? And why?

I may be a bit of an outlier (among GAD fans) on this one, but I didn't find this to be one of Bellair's strongest efforts. On the plus side, he (as always) provides terrific character sketches, but what characters. There isn't a member of Teasdale's family (or, rather, his wife's family) who is a pleasant character. I wouldn't want to invite any of them home for tea. And, it amazes me how sympathetic Littlejohn is to this crew. Bellairs also gives good descriptions of the countryside and small towns. The plot is a decent one...except for the ending. I'm a trifle disappointed with how justice is meted out. It may seem like one of the characters gets their just desserts, even if no one winds up behind bars (it's spoiler territory to describe the "just desserts"), but I'd be a lot more satisfied if someone had been officially punished for the crime. Poor Jim Teasdale--just when it seemed like he'd found a bit of happiness, it all came to a violent end. Someone really needs to pay for that. ★★ and 3/4 (just can't bring myself to give a full three)

First line: "Are you awake, Littlejohn?"

Last line: Littlejohn often wonders how long the trio of sisters will have to wait for their inheritance. Elvira, Phoebe, and Chloe.
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Deaths = 4 (one stabbed; one drowned; one natural; one fell from height)