A Knife for Harry Dodd is the 21st (!!!) Inspector Littlejohn mystery by George Bellairs. Originally published in 1953, this reformat and re-release from Agora, out 13th June 2019 is 312 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats.

George Bellairs was a prolific and very readable author. His books are enjoyable with solid characterizations, often droll dialogue and twisty plots. This one is maybe not my absolute favorite of the ones I've read by him, but it's an above average engaging murder mystery.

Harry Dodd is a friendly engaging man with set habits, egalitarian taste in friends, and a complex history. He is stabbed on the way home from the pub and the body count continues from there. Part of the appeal of the Littlejohn mysteries for me are the unerring 'English village' bucolic settings with tension and enmities rife just under the surface. Bellairs was an adept commentator on the human condition and I think the comparison with Simenon's French novels is an apt one.

Five stars, a diverting read, cleverly put together.

Wow _ a George Bellairs I haven't read!  The reader is straight into s brilliant story in vintage George Bellairs' style.  There are lots of weird and wonderful characters _ many of whom were probably drawn from the years when the author was a bank manager, in the days when a person in that position knew all his customers personal and private intimate details.  Absolutely one of his best _ please republish all of the Littlejohn books.

I really enjoyed this. Lots of great detail, a steadily unrolling plot about a dysfunctional family, set against the morality of the time, and the plot keeps moving in ways you'd least expect. Beginning with the abrupt stabbing of Harry Dodd, it gradually uncovers many layers of deceit and complication, as the truth of his life and the secrets within his estranged family are revealed.

When the Nicholls, mother and daughter, receive a phone call from Harry Dodd to collect him, they at first believe his is drunk but later discover that he has been stabbed and is now dead. But why would anyone want him dead.
Inspector Littlejohn and Cromwell of Scotland Yard are called in to investigate. 
An enjoyable well-written mystery, with some twists to get to the solution but also contains a set of unlikeable people called the Dodds' family. With an easy to read writing style.
Original written in 1953

I still have to find a George Bellairs' book I didn't like. They're all engrossing, well written and  fun to read.
This one was amazing, I couldn't read it fast enough and wasn't able to go to sleep until I discovered who the culprit was  (2 am in the morning).
The cast of characters is fascinating, most of them are unlikable and seedy but fleshed out and well written.
The mystery was great, full of twists and turns, it kept me guessing till the end.
I love Inspector Littlejohn and Cromwell and I look forward to reading other books in this great series.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Agora Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I count on George Bellairs for an instantly engrossing, solid read. His plot may not be as steady as a Patricia Wentworth or Agatha Christie, but the characters are fully developed, the dialogue exceptional- often bringing a wry smile to my face. And I never guess who the villain is at the beginning. One of the things I like best is the scenery, and great characterization, he truly understands people, human nature and his astute observations are often laugh out loud funny. I'm not a drinker, particularly beer, but I liked this book anyway- considering the importance of that bottle cap! Also, this plot rolls and bumps along just as an actual investigation pre-cell phone would have- I love the local bobby cycling to find our Scotland Yard man amidst his enquiries. When I rate books, I typically rate the book against the genre, or if I have read many of a particular author as I have this one, then I rate it against his or her other work. This is a 3.75 so I'll give him 4 stars for easy entertainment. Thanks, George!

This is a very well written story.  I love Inspector Littlejohn stories.  Moves at a relatively quick pace for a British detective story.  I have to admit, I did not see the ending.  Highly recommend.  I received an advance reader copy from the publisher.  Opinions are my own.

This book was first published in 1953. It is now being republished by Agora Books and it will be released on 13th June. It involves the series characters Inspector Littlejohn and Sergeant Cromwell of Scotland Yard.
Mrs Nicholls, her daughter Dorothy, and Harry Dodd live together in a bungalow called Mon Abri in the village Brande. Harry Dodd often spends his evenings at the village pub. Once when he had gone out to the pub, the Nicholls receive a telephone call from him that he is unwell and needs a lift home. When the Nicholls reach him in the car they find that he is badly injured having been stabbed in the back. The knife is missing. They put him in the car but by the time they reach the bungalow, he is dead. 
About 6 years back, Harry Dodd had a little fling with Dorothy who was then his secretary which he regretted later. But his children pressurized his wife to divorce him so that they could take control of the family business. Harry Dodd then bought Mon Abri to settle Dorothy and her mother and also stayed with them though he avoided any further physical relationship with Dorothy.
Harry’s ambitious M.P. brother William speaks to Scotland Yard and Littlejohn and Cromwell are sent to investigate the crime. Harry Dodd was a harmless and unassuming man. So who could have killed him ?
There follows a painstaking investigation with a lot of suspects. The detectives discover the dark side of the Dodd family and have to deal with jealousy, greed, intrigue and spurned lovers. They finally solve the case but not before further murders take place.
This is a well written mystery with an intricate plot. There are several twists and turns and plenty of clues. Most of the characters have strange lives which are described vividly and often comically. The characterization is very good.
However, my complaint is that there is a lot of padding of unnecessary details which slow down the pace and often make for dull reading. The book could easily have been reduced by about 25%  It is because of this aspect that I rate the book as 3 stars, otherwise I would have rated it as 4 stars.

Yet another Bellairs' masterpiece! This book was quite different from the other Littlejohn series that I have read so far. The mystery, suspense, pace and tension was very well maintained until the end. Of course, given that this is a Bellairs novel, one can expect some quirky humour and weird characters. 

Overall, this was an entertaining, engrossing and enjoyable read. A highly recommended book for those who love Classic mysteries.

This was a reread for me and was the first Bellairs I ever read. This edition is much improved on the previous and all typos etc have been corrected. A very convoluted and unusual plot with the usual surfeit of victims and lack of suspects. What I enjoy so much about Bellairs books are the social history that can be picked up from his descriptions of countryside, towns, clothing and decor. And having worked in finance for forty years the investments thread in this one was of interest to me too. It's not his best but it's a darned good read, nonetheless.

"A Knife for Harry Dodd"
George Bellairs is another British author who began a long and productive career during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Regrettably, as with so many other fine authors of the period, his name and his books have mostly been forgotten over the years since his death in 1985. Fortunately, some of Bellairs's best books are being brought back, both in print and as e-books. One of them, A Knife for Harry Dodd, originally published in 1953, will be back in print later this week from Agora Books, which sent me an e-book version for this review. It is a rewarding read. It's the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to that complete review by clicking here.

You have to feel sorry for Harry Dodd. Somebody hated him enough to stick a knife in his back as he left a nearby pub. Harry managed to make it to a telephone booth and call home – or, rather, the place where he was living, which, frankly, wasn’t much of a home – and alert Dorothy Nicholls and her mother, the two women who lived with him, to his urgent need for help. Neither of them could drive a car, but Dorothy did manage to drive to the place where Harry had made his call, but:

It was only when they picked him up that the pair of them discovered that Dodd had been stabbed in the back. Whimpering, they struggled to get him to his feet, and then they found the blood. All they could think about was how to get him in the car…Dorothy contrived to get the car home by taking a loop road instead of turning, and when they got Dodd to his own fireside, he was dead.

Inspector Littlejohn of Scotland Yard found himself facing a case of murder that seemed to make no sense, a case where the evidence, and the suspects, never quite seemed to add up the way they should. Harry Dodd proved to have a great many more secrets than anyone had suspected - but could any of those secrets have provoked someone into killing him? It won't be long before additional murders will add a real sense of urgency to the investigation. A Knife for Harry Dodd, by George Bellairs, is an excellent mystery, written with wit and leavened with humor, with many memorable characters.

There is little better than an Inspector Littlejohn book. I love every one of these, and AKnife for Harry Dodd is no exception. The interaction between Littlejohn and Cromwell is always enjoyable without being too predictable.  George Bellairs does a wonderful job filling out all of the other characters in his books with detailed descriptions. Highly recommended this series!

This is a very enjoyable classic crime novel with lots of action, interesting characters, and clever twists in the plot.

Harry Dodd made a mistake running off with his secretary Dot 6 years before, and is living at Mon Abri in Brande with Dot and her mother after his wife divorced him (forced into it by his three children).  He sleeps in an upstairs room gotten to by a pull down stairway.  He takes occasional fishing trips with his friend and goes to the local pub, The Bear, most evenings to be with his friends.  At the beginning of the book he has telephoned Mon Abri and asked Dot to come get him in the car.  She can't really drive, but manages to get down the hill just as Harry falls to his face in the road.  Dot and her mother manage to get him in the car and into the house where they find he has a knife in his back and he dies.  Dot called the police in the middle of the night, not realizing he died earlier.  

Harry's brother is a politician, and immediately calls Scotland Yard, and Cromwell and Littlejohn are sent to Brand.  They find lots of suspects, and learn a lot about Dodd's recent life.   Shortly before, Harry and his Dad had been run off the road in a car accident and their friend driving the car was killed.  Harry and his Dad were both scared.  When Dodd's Dad is killed, they find a paper with the address of a local pub.  The brother and sister running the pub claim that her 4 year old daughter is Dodd's daughter.  They find from the lawyer that Dodd has a lot more money than they expected.   And then, Dodd's lawyer is killed on his boat (he must know too much!).  

Gradually, after lots of interviews and traipsing back and forth around the countryside, Littlejohn gets a break by seeing the car described from the road accident.  He figures out the culprit who runs away.  However, one of Dodd's friends who is running away from his wife manages to run down the culprit by mistake!

A Knife for Harry Dodd is another Inspector Littlejohn story by George Bellairs and it is another excellently written murder mystery.

There are a number of "Golden Age" crime or mystery books being reissued and it is great if you, like me, enjoy an old fashioned whodunnit. A Knife for Harry Dodd is an excellent example of the genre that kept me guessing until the end.

Thoroughly recommended

First of all, in the interests…full disclosure….free copy…netgalley…..blah, blah, blah. You get the idea.

Ok, I have to admit I love an old detective novel. To be fair, any reasonable whodunit gets my vote, but I’m particularly fond of what you might call the old-school British detective. Must-haves – lower class, salt of the earth side kick; seriously stiff upper lip; rarely seen wife and a way of persuading people to spill the beans just by giving them a stern talking-to. George Bellairs’ Inspector Littlejohn has all of these in spades and I fully intend to read every one of the novels.

In this particular mystery poor Harry Dodd has been stabbed outside the local pub. Who is responsible? The appalling women he shares a house with? His equally appalling family? Maybe the wronged wife? ….or someone else entirely?

It doesn’t take too long to figure out the guilty party but the story holds the attention right to the end with some well-fleshed side characters and some interesting possibilities.

All in all a satisfying read. Next!

Another triumph for Bellairs and Littlejohn!  The plot twists and possibilities  are manifold!  Inspector Littlejohn is one of my favorite characters in mysteries today and I have been reading murder mysteries for 50+ years.  This was a fascinating tale.of lust, greed, deception and misdirection.  I highly recommend all of the Bellairs Littlejohn series as riveting reads.  I also really enjoy all of the excellent description of English country life and characters!

ANOTHER CRACKING READ FROM GEORGE BELLAIRS
Scotland Yards' Inspector Littlejohn is back on the case when the estranged brother (the titular Harry Dodd) of an MP is stabbed to death on his way home from the local pub.There seems to be no apparent reason why the quiet Harry should be murdered,estranged from his wife and family after a brief  ill judged affair and living with his former mistress and her mother in a platonic relationship.Only things are not as straightforward as they seem and as the bodies mount up the plot becomes more convoluted as it twists and turns ,scandal looms (this is the 1950's after all) .
There are the usual well drawn cast of characters with some really eccentric ones among them .And I have to confess that I took the perpatrators at face value and completely missed them as I tried to beat the indomitable Littlejohn and his trusty sidekick Cromwell to the solution of the 6 murders but failed miserably.
This is typical Bellairs so if youve read one before you know the drill if not you've a treat in store. Its a proper good old fashioned police detective story ,no high tech techniques just careful questioning and stacking up and following the evidence.  A terrific read.

Another satisfying read from George Bellairs.

Harry Dodd,regretfully divorced from his first wife, (his pushy son having forced his mother into a divorce to take control of the family business),  and living in the loft to be out of the way of his flirty mistress/common law wife and her poisonous money grabbing mother, is stabbed on the way home from the pub.Why he doesn’t ring for an ambulance rather than this unlikable pair I don’t know but they fetch him home only for him to die in the car before they get back.
His ambitious MP brother fetches in Scotland Yard in the reliable shape of Chief Inspector Littlejohn and Sergeant Cromwell and the bodies start falling like ninepins.

This is perhaps not in my top ten of Bellairs’ efforts but is enjoyable nonetheless, with his usual masterly painting of characters and places, and some excellent names, my favourite being Enoch Shoofoot, and more twists and turns than a rollercoaster.

I would still recommend this installment in the Littlejohn oeuvre to someone who is familliar with Bellairs’ characters, but perhaps don’t make it the first of his you read.

George Bellairs has written a challenging mystery in "A Knife for Harry Dodd". One mistake changes the course of a man's life. Still, he tried to do the right thing. And his reward? A knife in the back!
Who killed Harry Dodd? The many secrets of so many people muddy the waters for Inspector Littlejohn, who looks for the hidden and listens for the unspoken. A tantalizing whodunnit that unfolds leaving you thinking, "Aha! But yet...."
This is a very enjoyable read with plenty of bad guys to choose from. Unlike some mysteries that lead you down the garden path until disclosing a little known character with an improbable motive, Bellairs resolves this mystery in a way that, in hindsight, seems obvious and only too logical.
Accompany Littlejohn and Cromwell on their quest for truth and see if you can find the murderer yourself. This is a story you become deeply invested in - a great book for those who enjoy the classic mystery genre.

Harry Dodd was a married man with a successful business.  All that was lost when Harry went "middle-aged crazy" and ran off briefly with a younger woman.  Now he's stuck in a stifling cottage with his not-too-bright lover and her pushy mother where he lives in the attic to escape them.  One evening, someone knifes and kills Harry.  George Bellairs' reoccurring characters, Inspector Littlejohn and Officer Cromwell of Scotland Yard, are called in.  As they investigate, the body count rises.  While murder is a serious matter, Bellairs' description of Harry's lover and her mother, and their attempts to act cultured, is hilarious.  This is an entertaining classic British mystery populated with colorful characters, some likeable and some downright despicable.