The Longdon Murders

by Julius Falconer

Overview

On the night of a blizzard in January 1963, an elderly couple who live in a tiny Worcestershire village are summoned to their daughter's cottage two and a half miles away at Longdon, on urgent but unspecified business. When eventually they reach their daughter's cottage, exhausted and worried, they find it warm but empty. Unable to face the journey back home that night, they prepare a simple meal for themselves preparatory to retiring to bed in their daughter's cottage. The following morning, the concerned neighbours find the couple still sitting at table, poisoned by a bottle of contaminated wine. A student is found to have been killed by the same rare poison in his London bed-sit within days of the Longdon murders. Coincidence? Surely not! Inspector Wickfield is appointed to find out.
His inquiry is hampered by the repeated appearance of the deceased couple's son who is a senior officer in the Canadian force. Weaving his way round red herrings and dead ends, Wickfield requires all his ingenuity, prompted by a random crossword clue, to uncover a devious and intricate plot instigated by a determined criminal.

Julius Falconer can be relied on to provide stimulating and thought-provoking entertainment for a cosy night by the fire – but sharpen your wits first.

Book reviews online: Published Bestsellers @ www.publishedbestsellers.com

Product Details

BN ID:	2940149424870
Publisher:	Pneuma Springs Publishing
Publication date:	09/09/2009
Series:	Julius Falconer Series , #3
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	158
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Warwickshire-born Julius Falconer, educated in Leicestershire, Birmingham and Italy, is a former translator and a retired teacher, who has taught at schools in Cornwall and Scotland.
He now divides his time between a cottage in central France and the house in Yorkshire which he shares with his daughter and her husband. He was widowed in 2000.
As well as some booklets and several dozen papers in professional journals, he is the author of twelve murder mysteries featuring the diffident and cultured Inspector Wickfield. Because the stories are set in Worcestershire, he has featured in the Worcester News, on BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester and in the online Newsletter for the Worcestershire tourist board.
His hobbies include music, gardening, walking and reading.

Editorial Reviews

This seemingly unfathomable case tests Worcestershire's finest to the limit. Author Julius Falconer takes a back seat and graciously allows the inspector, freedom to tell the story in his own inimitable fashion, (a bit like Conan Doyle letting Sherlock Holmes off the leash.)
For a brilliant insight into the skulduggery and devious machinations of the criminal mind, you would be hard put to beat Julius Falconer and his Wickfield detective mysteries.

Harry Riley

"...the author Julius Falconer – himself a fountain of knowledge – spurts out amazing stories which keep his reader spellbound. And like a meandering river finding its way through uneven landscapes, the chronicler appears to ramble through intricately woven cases without overlooking even the tinniest detail. Quite often he is able to show that a tiny speck of information which the un-initiated investigator would happily have discarded turns out to be the key to unravelling a case."

Samuel Aina

I daresay that the Falconer style, for reasons that are beyond me, is not to everyone's taste, but at least his writing:
* is clear and unambiguous
* is grammatically, syntactically and orthographically correct in every detail
* has (I like to think) a certain elegance
* evinces an old-world charm too often lacking in today's writing
* springs no surprises (no sex, profanities or violence)
* in short, provides good, wholesome, family entertainment!

Margaret -