In 1970, on the set of downmarket sitcom ‘Floggit and Leggit’, leading man Edward Lowe stumbles across the body of a woman, apparently the victim of a tragic drowning accident. But there’s something about her that rings the faintest of bells in Edward’s head and, convinced the woman has been murdered, he enlists the help of his co-star John le Breton to investigate further. Crossing the country and back again during gaps in filming, the two men uncover both a series of murders in the modern day, and links to another unfortunate death during the War. As the body count mounts, Edward and John face a race against time to save the innocent victims of a serial killer…
As a huge Doctor Who fan the name Stuart Douglas is not an unknown one to me as he owns and runs Obverse Books, so I have read some of his Iris Wildthyme books, and that was one of the reasons I as keen to read this, the first of a new series of humourous cozy crime fiction.
I suppose the first thing to say is that this is obviously a play on John Le Mesurier and Arthur Lowe and Dad’s Army so part of the fun was trying to see who was who, though that wasn’t too tricky! I love crime fiction but sometimes that makes me a bit harder to please but I have to say I enjoyed this from the off. The writing has the right mix of humour but also a certain amount of pathos and I really liked the relationship between the 2 main characters, each with their own sadnesses and insecurity about themselves and each other.
The story has enough twists and turns to make it interesting but also has a nice cozy slowness about it. I thought that I had sussed out whodunit quite early and still thought I had it until towards the end – I won’t say who I thought did it for spoilers but I thought I knew it, and then the plot slowly unraveled my theory!
I really enjoyed this and read though it over 2 evenings, I would recommend it to anyone who loves a nice gentle cozy crime read, it’s funny in all the right places and the writing made it an easy read, the characters, because they are cleverly so based on people we think we know are therefore instantly, recognizable. Definitely give this series a chance and can’t wait for the next one!