A body surfaces off the Isle of Man in a puzzling mystery by the master of the "pure British detective story" (The New York Times).
The Manx Shearwater was scallop dredging-but it dragged up a body from the water instead. Considering that the corpse was tied at the ankles and weighed down with stones, it's clear this was no accidental drowning-and now the locals are in an uproar.
The victim appears to be Cedric Levis, who had an extravagant house and a reputation for philandering. Was Levis murdered for his money-or was this a crime of passion? Under the pretext of a holiday, Chief Inspector Littlejohn is invited by his old friend Archdeacon Kinrade to unofficially assist with the murder investigation-but to separate fact from fiction, he'll have to sort through accusations, town gossip, and mysterious stories surrounding the ancient Cursing Stones . . .
George Bellairs is the pseudonym under which Harold Blundell (1902–1982) wrote police procedural thrillers in rural British settings. He was born in Lancashire, England, and worked as a bank manager in Manchester. After retiring, Bellairs moved to the Isle of Man, where several of his novels are set, to be with friends and family.
In 1941 Bellairs wrote his first mystery, Littlejohn on Leave, during spare moments at his air raid warden's post. The title introduced Thomas Littlejohn, the detective who appears in fifty-seven of his novels. Bellairs was also a regular contributor to the Manchester Guardian and worked as a freelance writer for newspapers both local and national.
