In the town of Flaxborough, one of its prominent citizens is found electrocuted in his house slippers on the crossbars of an electricity pylon. This rather bizarre death follows the altogether unremarkable death of his neighbor and fellow prominent citizen just a mere six months earlier. Was the electrocution a murder? Are the two deaths connected? And what seedy business could be occurring in this otherwise pleasant town? Originally published in 1958 as the first in the Flaxborough series, Colin Watson wrote a delightful mystery that did not require gruesome crimes and heart-pounding action to hold the reader’s attention. Instead, Watson relied on a solid mystery with a well-plotted ending and deliciously witty insights into small town life and personalities. Now that the Flaxborough series is in the process of being reprinted, a new generation of readers can enjoy a sense of nostalgia while puzzling over a mystery that withstood the test of time.

(Reviewed in exchange for a free copy of book from the publisher via Netgalley.)