Review: Murder on the Pier

Murder on the Pier by Merryn Allingham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Its 1955, Flora Steele, small town book shop owner, and Jack Carrington, local crime writer, have taken Charlie to Brighton for the day as a treat for all his hard work. Unfortunately, after leaving the theatre on the pier which is putting on a very dated Harlequin show, Charlie and Flora find a dead body floating in the sea.

The body is that of Polly Dakers, a beautiful young woman from the village with aspirations to become a model. Polly was being escorted around by Harry, a married man, who had set her up in a luxurious apartment in Brighton, although their relationship was allegedly platonic. At a local party which Polly attended, Flora also noticed some tension between Polly and a night club owner called Frank Foster who seemed to be stalking Polly and she seemed scared of him. Polly was also seen arguing with her cousin Sylvia's boyfriend Raymond that night.

The police are convinced Polly either committed suicide or slipped on the icy ground and fell into the water through a gap in the railings. But based on her knowledge of Polly and the interactions she saw at the party, Flora is not convinced. However, when she starts investigating with Jack it seems as though someone is also trying to kill Flora.

While Flora is impulsive and liable to jump to conclusions, based on little or no evidence, Jack, as a former journalist, takes a more measured approach.

I enjoyed this more than the first book, although I thought the murderer's identity was too obvious. Also, if there had been two or three attempts on your life (two of which were 100% deliberate) would you go haring off to find evidence at the suspect's home - or would you present your suspicions to the police? With a modern day hat on, if Flora had given her 'evidence' to the police I am not sure it could have been used as they only had her word that she found it at the murderer's home.

Anyhoo, a pleasant cosy crime novel which draws on historical details (eg Jack having to go onto a waiting list for a telephone to be installed, and half day closing).

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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