This 6h in the amusing Flaxborough series begins with an attempted assault on Miss Brangwyn Butters. She handily fends this off, but the man somehow escapes from her, even after she bashes his head into a tree two or three times. Miss B. reports the incident to the police, and the mystery takes off.

DI Purbright, DS Love, Chief Constable Chubb are the backbone of the police department investigating the crime. They soon discover more attempted assaults (all failed) and the theft of some underwear from clotheslines. Then at a senior citizen picnic another assault is attempted, this time resulting in the man’s accidental death.

The police hope that’s the end of it, but no. Random failed assault attempts continue. When an elderly wife complains that her equally elderly husband has become annoyingly frisky, the path to the solution slowly appears.

I like Colin Watson’s mystery series, which is a mix of police procedural and farce. There’s a lot of sharp humor in each book, and that, combined with the characters, is what keeps me coming back. But if you’re looking for anything that could be called a straightforward mystery story, this series isn’t for you. It can and does get very silly at times.

Recommended for lovers of P. G. Wodehouse or Monty Python who want a light mystery to pass the time. ( )

This Flaxborough British procedural is about in the middle of the 13 Flaxborough humorous series. As usual, eccentrics rule the day. This time, and the book is very much of it's time (1969), randy old men feebly assault women of various ages in the village and then amble off with a sideways-crab-like shuffle. The flower-naming scene at the picnic is sheer Benny Hill. Not to everyone's taste, most assuredly, but if you like a little randiness, this is your ticket. ( )

DI Purbright is back in this sixth book in the Flaxborough series. This time he is after a man referred to as the Flaxborough Crab. The man has attempted to accost several women, who are sharp-witted enough to have escaped his clutches. By a surprising turn of events, the case seems to have suddenly solved itself. However, there is much more to be discovered.

What a quick and smartly humorous book! I look forward to reading all of the books in this series by Colin Watson.

Many thanks to Farrago Books and to NetGalley for this book for review. ( )

Miss Teatime shines

Flaxborough is in the grip of an epidemic of sexually aroused old men who are prowling, peeping, and chasing women around town, scaring them and putting everyone on edge. Miss Teatime's newest venture, an herb company over in Moldham Meres, is implicated in this surge in virility, and her sales are off after one of the chasers accidentally flipped into a mill pond and drowned. Since she knows her mixture is harmless, Miss Teatime sets out to find the root of this economically disastrous calumny and, in the process, she witnesses a death.

This #6 in the Flaxborough series is a rather middling mystery except for the way it spotlights Miss Teatime as an extraordinarily quick-witted and clever-tongued opponent. DI Purbright is just along for the ride.

I received a review copy of "The Flaxborough Crab" by Colin Watson (Farrago) through NetGalley.com. ( )

When a staid librarian arrives at Detective Inspector Purbright’s office to relate a tale of being nearly assaulted while walking home (saved only by the fact that she managed to get a better grip on the gentleman than he was able to get on her) Purbright thinks it might be a one-time occurrence. And after all, with her description of the man sidling away, how many elderly men could their possibly be that fit that description, so it would be easy enough to capture him.

But, as it turns out, there are quite a few actually. In fact, Purbright is puzzled when there is another attack on a young girl who was saved by a passing doctor who seemed to take his time before calling the police. Dr. Meadows, the rescuer, seemed even less concerned because the girl was not injured, and he took a bit of time before even calling the police and then only at the girl's insistence; but Purbright also soon finds that when a respected alderman attacks his assistant and later dies in an accident that Dr. Meadows may know more than he is telling. Even so, he finds it interesting that at the inquest Dr. Meadows blames the alderman’s strange actions on an herbal drug called “Samson’s Salad”. He also learns that the herbal mix is being marketed by none other than Miss Lucilla Teatime, a con artist that Purbright has come in contact with before.

But is it the herbs that is causing the strange behavior in the elderly men or is it something else - something Dr. Meadows knows more about than he’s saying? When Dr. Meadows is later found dead in his surgery, Purbright is convinced the death was not a natural one; but proving that fact and finding out who killed him may be more difficult than even the intrepid Purbright ever imagined...

I truly enjoy this series, as I find Purbright a fascinating man. He senses things are not right when others say they are and he is usually the one who is correct. This time, he's after a bevy of elderly gentlemen who seem to be after women who are out in the evening - even taking to peeping in their windows. When he visits Dr. Meadows he professes to know nothing about these occurrences, but Purbright soon finds that his old friend Lucilla Teatime is involved in the situation.

Miss Teatime is involved indeed, but not in any nefarious dealings. She is the manufacturer of "Samson's Salad" which seems harmless enough; but once she speaks with Sergeant Love she gets a clearer idea that something may be afoot that can benefit her financially - Miss Teatime never misses an opportunity to fatten her purse.

But Purbright discovers that Dr. Meadows was killed because he knew more about the situation than he was telling, and with the coroner refusing to do an autopsy on the man he must find another way to prove it, and it is quite enjoyable to follow along as he conducts his investigation into a killer while watching Miss Teatime conduct her own.

When the end comes and we discover who the killer is and how it was done it is satisfying indeed. This is the sixth book in the series and I look forward to the next. Recommended. ( )