Chief Inspector Littlejohn and his wife are on holiday on the French Riviera, but he is called to help with a investigation when the murder victim just before he dies asks for Littlejohn. It seems a group of people from Bolchester are on holiday, but who would want to kill this seemingly popular man, But this is not the last of the murders. Time is running out for Littlejohn to solve the cases before the French police take over.
The plot moves at a good pace as we get to know about all the people involved and their connection to the victim, exposing their motives and all the red herrings.
An enjoyable well-written mystery
Originally written in 1955.
A NetGalley Book ( )

classic-crime, international-crime-and-mystery, law-enforcement, France, post-WW2 *****

CI Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is suffering from too much publicity. He and his wife just wanted to have a little vacation in the south of France but he is accosted by his countrymen at the behest of a man who was stabbed. By the time they get to the hospital the man has died and the French police claim no need to investigate. This proves to be a ruse to chase off the civilians as the police are well aware of Littlejohn's reputation. And so it goes with more loosely related murders and tiresome tourists. But in between we are treated to vivid descriptions of the countryside and other scenery. Of course the mystery is well crafted and most interesting, just as I expected!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Agora Books via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )

We begin with a group of tourists from a typical Bellairs town,on holiday in France.
One of their number inevitably gets murdered and Chief Inspector Littlejohn is brought in to help the french police investigate.
There are possibilities of involvement by the Resistance,as it seems that the victim could have been a traitor in the war and could have been killed for that reason. Two other murders follow and there is much investigating to do on both sides of the channel.
This is the book in which Littlejohn first meets Commissaire Dorange who appears in quite a few of the latter books and who becomes great friends with the Chief Inspector.
We also meet the usual varied selection of characters who inhabit the series including the Alderman and Coal-Merchant,William Dawson, Mrs Beaumont the rich widow and Detective-Constable Haddock.
Although this story starts off strongly and has a lot going for it,it does tail off slightly as the book progresses. ( )