Farrago Flaxborough Mysteries 5 Books Set By Colin Watson (Lonelyheart 4122, Hopjoy Was Here & more

This five-book set brings together a selection of Colin Watson’s Farrago Flaxborough Mysteries, centred on Detective Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Sid Love. Set in and around the town of Flaxborough, these stories follow local concerns that quickly become matters for the police, from unexplained absences to deaths that raise difficult questions.

Across the collection, everyday settings such as porches, quiet streets and seaside funerals become the backdrop for investigations. The cases range from a missing sister-in-law and a suspicious doorstep delivery to neighbourhood scrutiny on Beatrice Avenue, urgent letters sent to prominent citizens, disruptive late-night incidents in Chalmsbury, and a death initially attributed to pneumonia that still demands closer examination.

Included titles

• Lonelyheart 4122
• Hopjoy Was Here
• Charity Ends at Home
• Bump in the Night
• Coffin, Scarcely Used

Key details

• Five-book set
• Farrago Flaxborough Mysteries series
• By Colin Watson
• Features D.I. Purbright and Sergeant Sid Love

Synopses

Lonelyheart 4122

Arthur Spain, a Flaxborough butcher, visits his sister-in-law after she fails to get in touch. When Lil is not at home and bottles of curdling milk are found by her porch door, he contacts the local police. D.I. Purbright and Sergeant Sid Love are called in to investigate.

Hopjoy Was Here

Neighbours watch closely as Chief Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love look into the residents of 14, Beatrice Avenue. Observations focus on Gordon Periam, a mild-mannered tobacconist, and another inhabitant described as rather less nice.

Charity Ends at Home

Three eminent citizens of Flaxborough, including the Chief Constable, receive a letter filled with urgent pleas for help. When charity worker Mrs Henrietta Palgrove is found in her garden pond, the circumstances suggest a possible link.

Bump in the Night

Tuesday nights in Chalmsbury become unexpectedly noisy, provoking outrage among local residents. The disturbances begin with a drinking fountain being blown apart, followed by the decapitation of a statue of a local worthy.

Coffin, Scarcely Used

Flaxborough councillor Harold Carobleat is buried after a death attributed to pneumonia. Soon after, Detective Inspector Purbright is required to examine the case, returning to look more closely at what happened.