This British police procedural is the first of twenty two about Superintendent Wycliffe. I know the series from Danish television (Wycliffe 1994), and when I saw a recommendation of the books on Martin Edwards´ blog, I bought the first one.
Beautiful ´Pussy´ Welles with the one deformity is found dead by shooting. She was young and seemingly popular, at least among the male population. Soon one of her lovers is suspected of the crime because he was around and owned the murder weapon. Wycliffe arrests him but doubts that the case can be so simple as it seems that Pussy actually suspected she would die. How could she know, and why didn´t she try to escape? A well-planned plot which may truly be called a puzzle.
Superintendent Wycliffe is an engaging and competent protagonist who ´dislikes order and discipline´ but joined the police to fight crime and escape from the family business. As the first one was written in my remote childhood, we are not told much about his private life, yet he comes across as an interesting person.
I think any lover of traditional, British police procedurals with a strong sense of place will enjoy this Cornish series, and I am strongly tempted to buy them all.
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