Lots of good twists and turns in this entry of the Inspector Littlejohn series. ( )

Littlejohn returns in the tale of Penelope Blow, a timid spinster who spends several days in London wishing to speak to Littlejohn.
Unfortunately she dies before they can talk. Is her death an accident, what really is going on in the Blow household. Starts slowly but the clues are there.
A NetGalley book. ( )

This is a traditional police procedural whodunit, written in the Golden Age puzzle style. Miss Penelope Blow falls to her death from her bedroom window in the family mansion after she returns to the village of Nesper from a short visit to London. She had gone to London at the suggestion of a friend hoping to meet with Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Thomas Littlejohn. Penelope's sister, Honoria, fears that she is being slowly poisoned and asks Penelope to report it to the police. When she goes to the Yard, Littlejohn is away from London at a trial so there is no meeting with him. By the time Littlejohn goes to see Penelope, she is dead. It's an apparent suicide, but Littlejohn is suspicious that there is more to it. With support from the local police detective, Littlejohn (and his sergeant Cromwell) investigate and go up against the eccentric Blow family.

A standout in this Littlejohn mystery is the variety of oddball minor characters he and Cromwell encounter as they investigate. For example, there's a window cleaner -- who is nearly blind without his eyeglasses. Miss Penelope's home town plays its role as a background for the investigation.

This was written in the early 1950's and reflects the England of that time in terms of societal norms. It is in the Littlejohn novel series and is easily read as a standalone.

It's an entertaining easy read, with plenty of interesting characters involved along the way to a satisfying conclusion typical of a cozy murder mystery.

I requested and received a complementary advance reading copy eBook from Agora Books via Netgalley. The comments about it are my own. I appreciate the opportunity to review the book. ( )

Another intriguing mystery story about D. I. Littlejohn.
Penelope Blow is very anxious to contact D. I. Littlejohn and calls in at the police station daily. When he does finally get to her she is dead.
And so begins another intriguing mystery for Littlejohn to solve.
These D. I. Littlejohn stories are great and I'm glad Endeavour Publishing has re introduced them to the reading public. ( )

A timid little spinster calls several times at Scotland Yard asking for Inspector Littlejohn,who is however away working on a case. When he returns and follows up her call,he finds that she has died after falling to her death from the window of her bedroom.
Littlejohn feels a responsibility for her and decides to investigate the supposedly accidental death,which soon proves to be murder.
The investigation takes the Inspector,together with his faithful assistant,Sergeant Cromwell to the town of Nesbury and the house of the Blow family where the death took place.
Bellairs then assembles for us the suspects which include a large number of Blows .He also introduces us to several other characters,many of which are in the mould of Bellair type eccentrics. These include Dr Cross,John William Slype (the cross-eyed window-cleaner) ,the wonderfully named Rev.Ethelred Claplady and the Chief Constable Cardew.
A good Golden-age detective tale,well told. ( )