There could be an argument made to the effect that I've currently got too many series revisits going on - what with this, the Flaxborough Chronicles, my rerun right through the Discworld novels, a restart of the Smiley series by Le Carre, and whatever else I've started and forgotten about in recent months. I've never forgotten this Flaxborough Series though - it's always been my kickstart reading again go to series, and this time around it started as that, and has continued as just a sheer pleasure to re-read even after however many dozens of times I've read them already.

CHARITY ENDS AT HOME sees the ongoing involvement of Miss Lucilla Teatime, and the unwitting assistance of Mortimer Hive, accomplished ladies' man and indifferent private investigator in Detective Inspector Purbright's investigation of the death of tireless charity worker, Mrs Henriette Palgrove, found upended in her garden pond, after a round of letters from the victim advising that she is likely to be murdered were received by eminent citizens of Flaxborough including the Chief Constable himself.

Told, as always, in Watson's inimitable cheeky, tongue in cheek style, with all the political incorrectness you'd expect of something published in the 1960's, these novels are always rescued by the sense of humour which is wicked, witty and oh so very British. Of course they are dated, and they are often mildly cringe-inducing, but Miss Teatime, in particular, is a magnificent character, entertaining, cunning, resourceful and blissfully independent she's part heroine, part crook in a way that unapologetically glorious. Purbright is calm, considered, and not above a bit of sly tongue in cheekness himself, and everyone in the cast in these novels gets their fair share of eccentricity, vulnerability, and laugh out loud moments.

Everytime I return to this series I'm reminded again how much I do love it. CHARITY ENDS AT HOME has a nicely twisty plot to it, as well as the highly entertaining cast of character and laugh-out-loud wordplay referred to in the book's blurb. (As an aside, this is one of those series that really does work best if you start at the beginning. Knowing who everyone is and how they are all introduced really does help a lot.) ( )

This, the fifth Flaxborough Mystery, is something of a place holder. Yes, there is a mystery, although it is not very compelling. More to the point, this short book introduces two new characters – Miss Lucilla Teatime, the con artist, who we met briefly in Book 4, and Mr. Mortimer Hive, a private detective who specializes in photographing straying spouses. These two, I am sure, will shore up the stories in future books.

I received a review copy of "Charity Ends at Home: A Flaxborough Mystery Book 5" by Colin Watson (Farrago) through NetGalley.com. It was first published in 1968 by Eyre and Spottiswoode and was reissued in 1991 and 2009. ( )

When Detective Inspector Purbright visits his superior, Chubb, the man is in possession of a a letter that seems, for all intents and purposes, to foretell of a murder not yet committed. But it was addressed only “My Dear Friend” and unsigned. While it purported to have a picture of the would-be victim, there is no picture attached. Stranger yet, it seems that Coroner Amblesby and the editor of the local newspaper have also received copies of the same letter. While at first it appears to be only a crank, when a prominent woman is murdered - in one of the ways mentioned in the letter - it is up to Purbright and his sergeant, Sid Love, to find out who wanted the woman dead.

At the same time, a private detective named Mortimer Hive is on the trail of a pair of illicit lovers, but is having a problem - his camera has been stolen and his car has been disabled - yet the intrepid detective isn’t going to let either stop him, and proceeds on foot to the little love cottage where he finds one lover but not the other.

What these two incidents have in common seem nothing at all; yet eventually it becomes clear to Purbright that they are indeed connected, and with the help of Mr. Hive and the redoubtable Lucy Teatime, Purbright may very well find a murderer who has been hiding in plain sight all along...

This is the fifth book in the Flaxborough Chronicles and is a very good entry in the series. Purbright is once again in top form, along with Love, whose reasoning process, while slower than his D.I.’s, is still right on the money. He goes about solving the murder methodically, finding the clues and placing them exactly where they’re supposed to be.

This is what makes a good mystery, and Colin Watson has a knack not only for doing so, but leaving us with endings, while not entirely complete, still leave us the answers we have been looking for. As it is, I have enjoyed every book in the series thus far, and am looking forward to reading the next. Highly recommended. ( )

Charity Ends at Home, originally published in 1968, is the fifth novel in the Flaxborough Mystery series featuring Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love. As with the first four books in the series, it’s a good, solid murder mystery full of sly humor and wit and a colorful cast of characters that will keep you amused – and sometimes laughing out loud.

Anonymous letters have been sent to the Flaxborough Chief Constable, the editor of the newspaper, and the coroner expressing a fear for the writer’s life and begging for help. Purbright and Love’s investigation leads them to take a close look at charity fundraising organizations. As usual, nothing is sacred to author Colin Watson and he takes more than a few jabs at the groups and those that lead them. With the addition of investigators Lucy Teatime and Mortimer Hive and a few well-placed clues it’s a delightful mystery laced with Watson’s satiric wit.

I have become a big fan of this series and intend to read all the way through. I recommend Charity Ends at Home although it’s not one of the best in the series so far. It got off to a slow start and didn’t pick up quite enough, and the ending was even more abrupt than usual. But the plot and the mystery are secondary to the characters Colin Watson develops and the words he uses to describe them and their antics. As always, there are some vivid word pictures, although possible politically incorrect in today’s world, some deliciously evil characters, and those laugh-out-loud moments (the cricket ball joke alone is worth reading the book).

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrago for an advance copy of Charity Ends at Home. ( )

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Another instalment of Flaxborough crime: here Inspector Purbright is initially looking into an anonymous letter from a woman who fears for her life. Later a woman is indeed found dead. The fabulous Miss Teatime makes a cameo appearance as chairperson of some dubious animal charities, together with a disreputable PI friend of hers called Mortimer, who is on the track of an adulterous wife.

Some very entertaining set pieces, including Mortimer's appearance at a careers fair, and the reactions he receives when inadvertently acquiring an offensive charity pin. The letter which sets the whole story off is extremely well done - when it appears for the second time a light bulb literally went off above my head (well, figuratively anyway).

Highly recommended. ( )