I absolutely love this bunch of characters in 1950s Brighton - ever since I first heard the Inspector Steine radio series a few years ago. It's wonderful to be able to be with them again and with new story lines and some difference to minor characters. Brighton is wonderfully depicted and is truly a character in its own right. Funny, witty, clever and entertaining!

I was drawn in by the title and the cover of this book and was looking forward to reading it. Lynne Truss is well known as the author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves, so this looked an interesting departure.

Crime is a serious business for Constable Peregrine Twitten, but innuendo is never far away.

Twitten can be slightly gauche and a little too earnest for his superiors. His only ally at the station appears to be the charlady, who has her own reasons for keeping him on her side.

Lynne Truss paints her characters with a broad brush of humour, such as you find on the ubiquitous saucy seaside postcard, in Carry On films or, more recently, in Mrs Brown’s Boys. The humour is not for everyone and one acronym that Twitten unwittingly relies on when questioning could be viewed as offensive.

I did not particularly enjoy reading this story and felt it would have worked far better as a script for a stage play or TV comedy. It wasn’t a surprise, therefore, to subsequently discover that the book is an adaptation of the author’s BBC Radio Inspector Steine series. I can see how well it would work in that context.

For all of that, the writing – especially the conversations – often seemed disjointed, with the story jumping around quite a lot. The plot was implausible to the point of being farcical at times; however, given the book’s title, I should probably have expected it.

There are people who will think the total opposite to me. I want to say something positive, but it is hard to say something positive when a book simply isn’t as enjoyable as you had anticipated and, in truth, does nothing for you. Since this is the third book in the series to date, perhaps I am missing something.

If you like the type of humour I have described, then you will probably enjoy this story; however, this is not a book or series that I will be returning to.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Raven Books, in return for an honest appraisal.

(This is an amended version of a review previously published on Goodreads and NetGalley.)

Summer Bank Holiday 1957 and Brighton is gearing up for a busy weekend. The big nemesis is the opening of a new milk bar and the appearance of the lovely Milk Girl. Meanwhile their is concern over the rigging of various contests, the beauty contest, the best barber and the knickerbocker glory. Then the bodies start appearing, each victim but over the head with a milk bottle and then stabbed with the broken remains. Surely none of this could be related to the strange booking of an entire floor of the best hotel and the presence of a large number of distinctly dangerous looking men.

Twitten In A Twitter.....
A Constable Twitten mystery set in Brighton. Poor Constable Twitten is hoping for a restful break following his major crime solving spree. Alas, it is not be. The discovery of bodies....and of an unusual murder weapon sets the town abuzz and Twitten into a twitter. Entertaining comic mystery with jump off the page characters and witty dialogue. Thoroughly enjoyable.

1950s and Brighton is gearing itself up for the Bank Holiday. The big event is the opening of a new milk bar featuring an appearance by the Milk Girl and a herd of cows. There are a few grumbles that a beauty contest has been rigged and the top local barber is upset that he has not made the final of Barber of the Year. For Inspector Steine the worry is making sure he picks the right winner of the Knickerbocker Glory competition. Then the bodies are found, but over the head and then stabbed with a milk bottle.

I love the Constable Twitten stories because they are pure escapism. The plots are mad yet hark back to the classic British farces of yesteryear. There are lots of retro references and a genuine love of the era. However there is also a ‘knowing ‘ streak running through which adds a layer of sophistication.

Even if it's quite funny at times I found the plot confusing and it fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I felt like I'd stepped back in time reading this police detective /murder mystery book. I found both the characters and language very dated and a little unbelievable. Nevertheless if you are prepared to suspend disbelief and enjoyed Dixon of Dock Green , this may be your cup of tea

This series just gets better and better, the humour sparkles throughout. All human life is here, both good and bad. The characters are well drawn and I love the interplay between our hero Constable Twitten and the dastardly charlady Mrs Groynes. The backdrop of 1950s Brighton is well drawn and makes you want to go there on a warm day and explore some of its spots.

This series is perfect for those who don't want their murders too graphic, there is a little swearing (very cleverly used with humour at times) but nothing to go overboard about.

There is a warmth and wit to these books that once you have taken the plunge you will want to go back and ensure you have read the others and be eagerly awaiting the next installment.

#MurderbyMilkBottle #NetGalley

I did struggle with this. It gets very convoluted at times, very repetitive at others. It's quirky and light hearted and fun but I have read all three and don't think I will be reading any more in this series if the author writes anymore. I really didn't like any of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for my ARC in return for an honest reveiw.

I'm a great fan of Lynne Truss's radio stories and short whimsical pieces, but I'm afraid I found this full length novel - a case in the middle of a series, I suspect - rather tiresome. I think it's difficult to sustain the jolly, wry tone over such a long vehicle, especially with very little variety or actual 'bite' in the subject matter and narration. Rather disappointing for me and, sadly, irritatingly silly and slight.

‘Milk bottles? People don’t attack lovely young women with flaming milk bottles!’

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair review. Thanks go to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishers.

I was originally drawn in to this book by its strangely odd title and its comically mild but aesthetically pleasing cover. I read the blurb and didn’t know what to think...obviously I dived right in!

This is the third book in the Constable Twitter series by this author, but It didn’t make a difference that I hadn’t read the others as it worked well as a stand alone story. Set in 1957, the book follows the adventures of a slightly irritating, know-it-all, young constable by the name of Twitten, who having recently joined the Brighton Police team finds himself unfortunately (for him) but hilariously (for us) wrapped up in the mysterious triple murder case of a milk bottle murderer! Could this be linked to the new Milk Bar due to open on bank holiday Monday?! Or is this some grudge held against the semi-famous new Milk Girl who features on all the Drink More Milk campaign posters ...along with their new slogan “DRINKA PINTA MILKA DAY”...?

Truss manages to do something I’ve not seen before and seamlessly blend Crime Fiction and Comedy together into a kind of ‘Carry On Constable’ style whodunnit. Full of innuendo and good old fashioned mockery of our dear old Crown Servants the British Police Force this book had me laughing out loud in so many places. Twitten’s over analytical and serious thought process is one example: “ Twitten fleetingly considered what milk actually was. Setting aside the obvious and alluring Freudian associations with breast-feeding, would you call it an opaque, fatty secretion? It was bovine in origin, obviously. Mammary came into it, too. If you were to lift a jug of milk at a tea table and ask, ‘Now, who takes opaque fatty bovine mammary secretion in theirs?’ everyone would definitely say, ‘Not me’. Twitter however seems to be the bane of many of the other police constable’s lives, and frequently appears as the hit of their jokes. Whilst at training academy for example, his fellow students taught him this key nugget: “In my detective training we were taught that people are generally wrong about not knowing anything. The acronym is PAGWANKA.’ Brunswick nearly choked on his biscuit. ‘Is that right, son?’ he said. ‘Yes, sir.’ Twitten shrugged. ‘Or WANKA for short.’
Poor Twitten.

The story is undeniably quintessentially British...from the Cockney rhyming slang used by the secret part-time gangster-cum-tea lady Mrs.Groyne; to the Bobby’s on patrol with their truncheons and helmets and inability to see what’s right under their ‘ruddy noses’, to the best version of the Punch and Judy scene that unfolds on the beach. I felt nostalgic and endeared by the whole unfolding series of catastrophes and really enjoyed the subtle but not so subtle pokes at gold old British institutions like the BBC, and the requirement to have a food old fashioned cuppa tea at times of crisis.

I really enjoyed myself reading this, and am now determined to read and catch up on Twitten’s previous misadventures!

Now you’ll have to excuse me...I have a strange craving for a cup of fatty bovine secretion......

The third in the series of romps in the seamier sides of 1950s Brighton - and I think I will call a halt.

I did not enjoy this as much as the second in the series "The Man That Got Away". I found the humour and the plot rather grating and tiresome.

Readers who enjoy murder and broad humour in an evocative English seaside setting will lap this up as fast as a rapidly-melting ice cream cone.

Thank you NetGalley and Raven Books (Bloomsbury Publishing) for the digital review copy.

It is very difficult to write book of nonsense trying to keep up the idea for a full story, not many people manage it. It is even more difficult to write a whimsically themed police story full of nonsense and have to say unfortunately though a valiant effort this book fails to achieve the heights that no doubt the author strived for. A book of nonsense is not supposed to read as nonsense it should read true though nonsensical this book doesn’t it is just nonsense Not one to recommend

The trials and tribulations of the hapless Constable Twitten continue in the third instalment of this promising series. The books so far have been lighthearted crime/mystery novels, set in a richly imagined 1950s Brighton. The small central cast - the constable, his sergeant, the inspector, and the cleaning lady - return, this time dealing with the titular murder by milk-bottle - or murders, rather. This is particular disconcerting for Twitten, as he seems to have an aversion to the fatty bovine mammary secretions. There's also a new chapter in Twitten's on-going duel with the local criminal mastermind, with the inspector no wiser as to what's actually going on.

The book is charming, full of laugh-out-loud moments and the witticisms you'd expect from Ms Truss. The parallel plots are cleverly interwoven, and the book bounces along nicely to a satisfying conclusion. If you liked the series so far, this won't let you down, and I'm very much looking forward to the next!

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for the copy.

This book continues Lynne Truss' witty series about the hopeless Inspector Stein, the earnest Constable Twitten and the unfortunate Sergeant Brunswick. Policing the streets of 1950s Brighton, Stein manages to ignore everything but his own self-importance, whilst Twitten notices everything except his impact on others. Brunswick is urged not to go undercover for this case, as threats are made against the opening of a "milk bar". At the same time, a mysterious series of killings by milk bottle are discovered. Are they connected? And what has Mrs Groynes, char lady
at the police station by day, but with very different affiliations, got to do with it this time.

ARC provided by Netgalley.

Brighton. August Bank Holiday. Three bodies. All unconnected - except for the murder weapon

Twitten, Brunswick and Steine are baffled.....

Tom Sharpe meets Agatha Christie

I was attracted, in no small way, to this latest addition to Lynne Truss' Twitten series by the cover and its title. This whodunnit is set in 1950’s Brighton, it's a light-hearted read with plenty of reminders of life in post-war Britain: knickerbocker glories; Punch and Judy; Jammie Dodgers; and Richard Attenborough's Pinkie Brown in Brighton Rock, which, for me, was a trip down Memory Lane.
With characters like the naive Inspector Steine and brainy Constable Twitten, which could have been found in a Tom Sharpe novel.
If anything the plot lets it down, with too many characters something Agatha Christie would avoid and too many red herrings. Admittedly this is the third in the Twitten series, so possibly I would have been more immersed in the protagonists' world, particularly as the Middle Street Massacre is often mentioned. Having said that, I'll definitely catch up with the first two books in the series.