Genre Fiction
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Murder's a Swine (British Library Crime Classics): A Second World War Mystery: 88
'I should imagine this was murder, too, because it would be very difficult to build yourself into a heap of sandbags and then die...'
In the blackout conditions of a wintry London night, amateur sleuth Agnes Kinghof and a young air-raid warden have stumbled upon a corpse stowed in the walls of their street's bomb shelter. As the police begin their investigation, the night is interrupted once again when Agnes's upstairs neighbour Mrs Sibley is terrorised by the sight of a grisly pig s head at her fourth-floor window.
With the discovery of more sinister threats mysteriously signed 'Pig-sticker', Agnes and her husband Andrew - unable to resist a good mystery - begin their investigation to deduce the identity of a villain living amongst the tenants of their block of flats.
A witty and lighthearted mystery full of intriguing period detail, this rare gem of Golden Age crime returns to print for the first time since its publication in 1943.
In the blackout conditions of a wintry London night, amateur sleuth Agnes Kinghof and a young air-raid warden have stumbled upon a corpse stowed in the walls of their street's bomb shelter. As the police begin their investigation, the night is interrupted once again when Agnes's upstairs neighbour Mrs Sibley is terrorised by the sight of a grisly pig s head at her fourth-floor window.
With the discovery of more sinister threats mysteriously signed 'Pig-sticker', Agnes and her husband Andrew - unable to resist a good mystery - begin their investigation to deduce the identity of a villain living amongst the tenants of their block of flats.
A witty and lighthearted mystery full of intriguing period detail, this rare gem of Golden Age crime returns to print for the first time since its publication in 1943.
Readers Top Reviews
R. A. Bentley
Those who don't like their crime mysteries sullied by humour had best give it a miss. Everyone else will find this eccentric novel great fun. As for the reviewer who found the tale "reeked of privilege," where? Most of the principle characters, are, at best, middle-class. Is this a crime now? Unusually, it's set during the phoney phase of the Hitler war --- sandbags, ARP wardens, rationing. Might put you off pork though.
Kindle
I love this series of British Library Crime Classic book. And I was not disappointed by this book, it was written during the war, and will certainly keep you guessing to the end of the story. The amateur sleuths are a husband and wife team and I would certainly be interested to read more books in this series. A good solid read.
ceric7Aroha
For me the interesting feature of this novel was its depiction of life in wartime London, although other writers of contemporary crime fiction, such as ECR Lorac, have done this as well, if not better. The plot was untaxing to say the least but that is not my main gripe. I found the tone of this book quite distasteful. It reeked of privilege and of something bordering on contempt for the "lower classes". I disliked it intensely.
Mr. A.J. PENDLEBURY
Yet again ,British Library Crime Fiction have introduced a new sort of crime fiction reissue. I thought it would be difficult to write light heartedly about the early days of WW2, but this talented pair of authors manage it really well . The fascinating introduction by guru Martin Edwards sets the scene perfectly and the synopsis can just be left for new readers to assimilate. Difficult to place the book stylistically for new readers ; I found some similarities with Alan Melville in the wit ; Edmund Crispin with some of the capers and maybe early George Bellairs with some of the wonderful names . Whilst the overall tone is light , there is some real depth at departure scenes at mainline stations and also in some of the ARP exercises. Don't expect too much with detailed alibis or bright red herrings and I think most GAdection fans will spot the criminal . However, a fascinating new book and as ever ,very good value.
