Andrew Taylor's Lydmouth series is an enjoyable collection of crime novels set in 1950s England, featuring Inspector Richard Thornhill. This is the third I've read and it maintains the high standards set earlier in the series. Taylor writes well, with interesting characters and a strong emphasis on their personal lives as well as their role in the plot. Like some of the other books in the series, the plot is interesting but fails to come to fruition; the conclusion seemed anti-climactic with a very perfunctory explanation for the main event - the murder of a retired doctor. The mysterious nature of several characters, including the new doctor, the lodger and Thornhill's sergeant didn't really fulfil their promise.
A good, easy read nonetheless.