by Lynne Truss
Part of Constable Twitten
First published 2018
Inspector Steine has grown comfortable with his quiet life policing Brighton. The Middle Street Massacre of 1951 eliminated most of the city's criminals in a single bloody confrontation while the local police stopped for ice cream. Now Steine faces no criminals, no crimes, and no stress. Sergeant Brunswick keeps suggesting that some criminals survived that decisive day, but Steine prefers not to think about it. His peaceful routine gets disrupted when Constable Twitten arrives, an ambitious new officer who immediately begins investigating recent burglaries. Matters get worse when Twitten attends opening night at the local theatre. Sitting beside a harsh theatre critic, the young constable watches in shock as someone shoots the critic dead during the performance. The murder forces Steine to confront an unwelcome reality. Brighton may need actual police work after all.
Genres: 20th-century, mystery, crime, british-literature, detective, comedy
Vibes: clever, darkly-comedic, satirical, suspenseful, witty
Tropes: ensemble-cast, fish-out-of-water, reluctant-detective
Setting: Brighton, Middle Street, Theatre
Period: 1951, 1950s
304 pages · Hardcover · Bloomsbury USA
Content warnings: murder, violence