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What does the death of a young man on a fair ride have to do with an impending divorce of an unhappy couple? I was scratching my head for just a minute or two wondering that very thing. Basically, the story begins with what would seem to most an exciting space ride at a fair. The story makes what appears a sharp right turn to the unhappy marriage of David and Julia Harton. Divorce is on the horizon, but perhaps there is a better way out for Julia?

When Julia is approached by a Mortimer Rothermere of the Happy Endings Agency with a plan as to how she can come about a divorce, with a sizable settlement. Despite how unorthodox Mortimer's plan is, she begins to see that it just may work. The problem is, Mortimer is a con artist of the highest ilk.

Having recently become a fan to Colin Watson's work, it was quite pleasurable to see Inspector Purbright hard at work to expose the actual cause of death of the young man. Purbright is quite intelligent, and brings things together quite nicely. As always when reading one of these novels in this series, there is quite a bit of humor and intrigue. What a delight it is to have Miss Lucilla Teatime as part of this story as well. There are twelve books in this series.

Many thanks to Farrago and to NetGalley for this ARC to review.

Date of publication: June 14, 2018; Originally published in 1977. ( )

The Flaxborough Chronicles continue, this time with a soft focus on Mr. Mortimer Hive, a "professional correspondent" that we met in "Charity Ends at Home". Now you young people might not know what a "professional correspondent" might be except in the context of Rachel Maddow or George Wills. But back in the days before no-fault divorce, a "correspondent" was the title used in court filings for the person with whom someone committed adultery. Mr. Hive seduces women for pay.

Here Mr. Hive is hired to seduce Mrs. Julia Hatton, the wife of a dogfood manufacturer. Mr. Watson does not make this an unsavory episode, Mrs. Hatton is quite happy to be photographed in motorcycle leathers and linked with one of Mr. Hatton's employees more unsavory employees named Digger Tring. She enjoys Mr. Hive's company (he is seductive, after all) and gets a kick out of a supposed plot to accuse her husband of her murder. What neither Mr. Hive or Mrs. Hatton know is that Digger Tring has been bumped off and someone is trying to pin the deed on Mrs. Hatton. They have enlisted the unwitting Mr. Hive to set her up.

The motive for the murder is awfully complicated and revolves around dogfood and a bunch of gangsters going by the name of Cultox Company who have invested heavily in dogfood. So complicated in fact that I almost missed it. Digger Tring was murdered Why? Of course our Detective Inspector Purbright sorts it all out.

This isn't my favorite Flaxborough book. The motive really is too obscure, the dastardly deeds that must be covered up are economically unlikely, and the question about how the murderer is linked to Cultox unanswered. But Hive is an interesting guy. A cad with a conscience. Let's keep watching him.

I received a review copy of "One Man's Meat: Flaxborough Mystery #9" by Colin Watson (Farrago) through NetGalley.com. It was first published by Eyre Methuen in 1977 and reissued by Mandarin in 1991 and Faber & Faber in 2011. An audiobook was released by BBC Audiobooks in 2004. ( )

A young man named Tring is having a fun night at a local fair when for a seemingly unknown reason, he falls to his death from a ride. But his family is having none of it and insist that his death was murder. After the general inquest, DI Purbright isn't sure what to make of it, but he's willing to listen to what Tring's grandmother has to say on the subject...

Julia and David Harton heartily dislike each other and he wants a divorce. Badly. But not enough to part with any of his money, which is why she won't grant him one. Yet she soon receives in the post a very strange letter from a company called "Happy Endings" that professes to offer her just that.

When she meets with the sender - a Mr. Mortimer Rothermere - he merely states that he has been retained by someone who knows of her plight and is willing to offer her a way to achieve her ends - to the tune of ￡20,000. After hearing the details she agrees. She is merely to "disappear" for a time, leaving trace evidence of her husband having done away with her. Then, when he is desperate for her to return, she will - but only if he meets her price...

Somehow these two events are related, but how? And will Purbright be able to connect them, thus solving the disappearance of Mrs. Harton and the death of Mr. Tring? Perhaps...with a little luck, the mild assistance of Miss Lucy Teatime, and the reluctant help of Mr. Rothermere...

While at first this seems to be a tale of the murder of a young man and a plan to convince a husband his wife has been kidnapped, it soon becomes something else entirely. The young man's grandmother goes to Purbright telling him that a picture of her grandson is missing, along with the silver frame it was in - taken by a supposed reporter - and also missing is a small round medal that he had possession of. Who would want either of these items?

Then when Julia Harton agrees to a plan to be "kidnapped" in order to force her husband - who wants a divorce but does not want to give her any kind of financial settlement - to do so, it is soon found out that something very different than what Mrs. Harton had agreed to has been put in place.

But while these two things seem to have nothing in common, it turns out that they most certainly do. And when Miss Lucilla Teatime pays a visit to a friend and discovers that one of her beloved dogs has passed away it only adds to the mystery...

What seems like a couple of forthright cases soon turn into a mystery indeed for Detective Inspector Purbright. Certain things start to come to light, both for him and for the 'grieving' husband who begins to realize that things are starting to go awry; partly because Mr. Rothermere - who has begun to realize that he might have made a terrible mistake - turns to Miss Teatime for help in unraveling himself from the situation.

When Mrs. Harton also begins to realize her role in the matter may not have been as straightforward as she thought, she also wonders how to extricate herself and that is when things start falling into place for Purbright. With plenty of twists and turns, it is delightful indeed to watch everything weave itself into place giving us a nice historical mystery; while those today are indeed much more complicated, this is still a very nice endeavor. Recommended. ( )