{"product_id":"lonelyheart-4122","title":"Colin Watson: Lonelyheart 4122 [2019] paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhatever can have happened to Lil? \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eFlaxborough butcher Arthur Spain is worried that his sister-in-law hasn't been in touch lately, so he pays her a visit. But Lil's not at home, and by her porch door are a dozen bottles of curdling milk... Alarmed, he calls in the local police, \u003cstrong\u003eD.I. Purbright\u003c\/strong\u003e and his ever-reliable Sergeant Sid Love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt transpires Lilian Bannister is the second middle-aged woman in the town to mysteriously vanish, and the link is traced to a local lonely hearts agency called Handclasp House. So when a vulnerable-seeming lady with the charming title of Lucy Teatime signs up for a romantic rendezvous, the two detectives try extra hard to look out for her. But Miss Teatime has a few surprises of her own up her dainty sleeve!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWitty and a little wicked, Colin Watson's tales offer a mordantly entertaining cast of characters and laugh-out-loud wordplay.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat people are saying about the Flaxborough series:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Colin Watson wrote \u003cstrong\u003ethe best English detective stories ever\u003c\/strong\u003e. They work beautifully as whodunnits but it's really the world he creates and populates ... and the quality of the writing which makes these stories utterly superior.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The Flaxborough Chronicles are satires on the underbelly of English provincial life, very well observed, very funny and witty, written with an apt turn of phrase ... \u003cstrong\u003eA complete delight\u003c\/strong\u003e.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eIf you have never read Colin Watson - start now\u003c\/strong\u003e. And savour the whole series.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Light-hearted, well written, wickedly observed and very funny - \u003cstrong\u003ethe Flaxborough books are a joy\u003c\/strong\u003e. Highly recommended.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eHow English can you get?\u003c\/strong\u003e Watson's wry humour, dotty characters, baddies who are never too bad, plots that make a sort of sense. Should I end up on a desert island Colin Watson's books are the ones I'd want with me.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eA classic of English fiction\u003c\/strong\u003e... Yes, it is a crime novel, but it is so much more. Wonderful use of language, wry yet sharp humour and a delight from beginning to end.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Colin Watson writes in such an understated, humorous way that I follow Inspector Purbright's investigation \u003cstrong\u003ewith a smile on my face from start to finish\u003c\/strong\u003e.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"If you enjoy classic mysteries with no graphic violence and \u003cstrong\u003emarvellously well drawn characters\u003c\/strong\u003e then give the Flaxborough series a try - you will not be disappointed.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEditorial reviews:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Watson has \u003cstrong\u003ean unforgivably sharp eye for the ridiculous\u003c\/strong\u003e.\" \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Flaxborough is Colin Watson's quiet English town whose outward respectability masks a seething pottage of greed, crime and vice ... Mr Watson \u003cstrong\u003ewields a delightfully witty pen dripped in acid\u003c\/strong\u003e.\" \u003cem\u003eDaily Telegraph\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eArguably the best of comic crime writers\u003c\/strong\u003e, delicately treading the line between wit and farce ... Funny, stylish and good mysteries to boot.\" \u003cem\u003eTime Out\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A great lark, \u003cstrong\u003efull of preposterous situations and pokerfaced wit\u003c\/strong\u003e.\" Cecil Day-Lewis\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eOne of the best\u003c\/strong\u003e. As always with Watson, the writing is sharp and stylish and wickedly funny!\" \u003cem\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cstrong\u003eThe rarest of comic crime writers\u003c\/strong\u003e, one with the gift of originality.\" Julian Symons\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Flaxborough, \u003cstrong\u003ethat olde-worlde town with Dada trimmings\u003c\/strong\u003e.\" \u003cem\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Watson, Colin","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":46484373045587,"sku":"9781788420877","price":6.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0616\/4001\/6057\/files\/watson-colin-colin-watson-lonelyheart-4122-2019-paperback-9781788420877-1152879449.jpg?v=1743285444","url":"https:\/\/theirishbookshop.live\/products\/lonelyheart-4122","provider":"Chapters Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}