Answer in the Negative by Henrietta Hamilton

Henrietta Hamilton was an English Author known for her crime-solving married couple, Johnny and Sally Heldar. Agora Publishing, has decided to reprint these books from the 1950's and this was a fabulous choice. I liked the whole environment of the Era, but in particular- drawing rooms, drinks, drizzly weather and the quirky English Characters. Set them in a book and a Photo Archives environment and I feel right at home.

The War years are over but England still has bombed-out sites and scars left in people as well. A series of nasty pranks keep getting worse and Johnny Heldar is called in...who works with his wife. They plan a siege...watching everyone in the Archive Office. Things take a turn for the worse and the unlikeliest of victims is murdered. Trying to solve this mystery and figure out whodunit was a lot of fun...but will the first murder be the last? Hamilton has a way of building clues that kept me guessing till the early hours.
4 stars good book

Blurb:
At The National Press Archives on Fleet Street, archive assistant Frank Morningside has become the recipient of nasty poison pen letters and cruel practical jokes. With Frank disliked by many, his superior Toby Lorn is concerned by the number of potential suspects. And when the nature of the letters becomes even more vulgar, things take a sinister turn.

Toby calls on his friends Sally and Johnny Heldar, two amateur sleuths, to investigate. Posing as researchers, Sally and her husband Johnny go undercover to scout out the myriad of suspects at the archive. But just as the Heldars begin to make some progress, Morningside is found dead in his office, bludgeoned by a box of glass negatives.

When another suspicious death occurs within the company, the Heldars fear they may be in over their heads.

Answer in the Negative was first published in 1959 and is part of Agora Books’ Uncrowned Queens of Crime series.

The Body in the Dumb River: A Yorkshire Mystery by George Bellairs

James Lane is found face down in a dirty, flooded area wrapped around a tree. Inspector Littlejohn has one of his more interesting cases because Jimmy was leading a double life. He had owned a shop that was unsuccessful and so he had taken to the road to earn a living. Those monies went to support a wife who considered herself much too good for him and their three Daughters. But a double life is bound to come out as will murder.

George Bellairs writes a tight plot with very defined characters in this Book. The plot has a lot of twists and turns which always makes for great reading. This is a part of English village life that moves in greed, violent temper and strong drink. The Women are particularly interesting in their whining, dis-satisfied lives trying to keep up appearances. Inspector Littlejohn has a lot on his plate when he interviews them and tries to separate who is lying from the rest of the cast of villagers.

I have become an Admirer of George Bellairs. His characters are not always attractive but they are real and convincing. They build the story often through shadowy lives. The unintended consequences are almost as prevalent if we had a cast of Oliver Twist nineteenth century models to follow. If you like older murder mysteries set in England from the 1940's to the 1960's this is a very good Author to read. Personally I do. I give this five stars and highly recommend it.

Blurb:

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder
'A decent, hardworking chap, with not an enemy anywhere. People were surprised that anybody should want to kill Jim.'
But Jim has been found stabbed in the back near Ely, miles from his Yorkshire home. His body, clearly dumped in the usually silent ('dumb') river, has been discovered before the killer intended – disturbed by a torrential flood in the night.
Roused from a comfortable night's sleep Superintendent Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is soon at the scene. With any clues to the culprit's identity swept away with the surging water, Bellairs' veteran sleuth boards a train heading north to dredge up the truth of the real Jim Teasdale and to trace the mystery of this unassuming victim's murder to its source.