He'd Rather Be Dead (An Inspector Littlejohn Mystery) by George Bellairs

 George Bellairs published,"He'd Rather Be Dead," in 1945. Readers learn more about Inspector Littlejohn's method of tracking down a murderer and his gentle persistence as he checks alibi's and past lives. The holiday town holds many, dark secrets and the Residents would rather Littlejohn not know of the graft and politics that endure. Bellairs always has a dab hand in describing the people and the background in his books. It is one of the things that makes reading him so enjoyable.

WWII in Europe is going on when this Mystery is written, so that makes it particularly interesting to me. I love the Carnival atmosphere and the sidekick the Inspector inherits in Inspector Harvester. The social imbalance is of interest because England was definitely based on a class system much sterner and stricter than ours. Bellairs makes great reading if you are interested in building the background, as well as the characters. I am... so, he has become one of my favorite Authors.  Murder once started is hard to control though... will there be more?

Blurb:

The mayor of Westcome, Sir Gideon Ware, has a speciality for painting a target on his own back. Most recently, he has gained numerous enemies for transforming the quaint harbour town into a sprawling, manmade boardwalk through a series of bribes, blackmail, and backhand deals.

So when Sir Gideon Ware dies at his annual luncheon, it’s no surprise that foul play is suspected.

Inspector Littlejohn is brought in to investigate the murder, but with so many motives to sort through, the suspect list is endless. And with the Chief Constable covering up critical clues at every turn, Littlejohn is left on his own to get to the bottom of Ware’s murder.

But when a second body is found, Littlejohn’s investigation gets put on a fatal timer.

Evil By The Sea (A By the Sea Mystery Book Four) by Kathleen Bridge

Kathleen Bridge writes a Community of People we all would love to know. Liz Holt has moved home to the Indiatlantic Inn, which is a Hotel and Emporium, in Melbourne Beach, Florida that her Family owns. Dorian Starwood, with hair that contains glittery strands of metallic green, pink, and gold has been her Aunt's Psychic for over twenty years and now she is having a second, small, wedding.The Groom is Wiccan Leader, Julian Rhodes. Liz's Aunt is a double for Esmeralda in Bewitched including eye liner and curls. During the Mystical Merafest, tents are set up for Sirens by the Sea, Delicacies By the Sea, and many others but there is Murder afoot. Liz had better get busy before she ends up as the next body.

This is a lovely trip to quirky characters, psychics, incense, and a fabulous cast of characters. If I hadn't run into some of these people in Florida I might think I was in the 1970's. It makes me want to get out my beads, wear patchouli and join them. But with murder, delicious food, beautiful vistas, creative characters, a Parrot and a Ferret - the understated humor is a winner for this Mystery. Five Stars 

Blurb:

Liz Holt is bewitched, bothered, and bewildered when a wicked killer objects to a wiccan wedding . . .   

Island life can get pretty weird. Wiccan weddings, psychic brides, mermaid parades, eccentric parrots . . . Novelist Liz Holt has gotten used to it since moving back to the barrier island of Melbourne Beach, Florida, and once again working in her family's hotel and emporium, the Indialantic by the Sea. But one thing she'll never get used to is murder.

Groom-to-be and leader of the Sunshine Wiccan Society, white warlock Julian Rhodes is poisoned at his rehearsal dinner on the hotel's sightseeing cruiser. His psychic bride, Dorian Starwood, never saw it coming. An old friend of Liz's great-aunt Amelia, the celebrity psychic engages Liz to find out who intended to kill her intended. With her Macaw, Barnacle Bob, squawking "Pop Goes the Weasel" at Dorian's pet ferret, and the streets teeming with mermaids in tails, Liz has got to wade through the weirdness and cast a wide net for the killer—before she's the next one to sleep with the fishes . . .