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.