The summer of 1957 has witnessed plenty of deadly violence in Brighton, England, and Constable Twitten longs for a respite. But he’s not going to get one. Three more victims soon bite the dust in rapid fashion, sending this seaside resort town into a tizzy over the August Bank Holiday weekend. What’s more, all three met their end courtesy of milk-bottle shards. This is a rather unfortunate coincidence, since the Milk Girl, a lovely young woman hired by the dairy industry, will be making a publicity appearance, opening a milk bar. Or is it a coincidence?

Consider too the influence of an ice cream competition, judged by the local police inspector, Steine. Don’t forget the beauty contest, widely believed to be rigged, or the barber competition, which has a similar reputation. For good measure, we have a stampede of docile milk cows, a girls’ school with a troubled past, and Mrs. Groynes, char lady at the police station, whose real profession is running organized crime in Brighton.

Incidentally, she’s the only organized person in the station, for the police are utterly incompetent. Constable Twitten, though he sees much, as his first name, Peregrine, would suggest, makes a hash of interpreting it, as his last name implies. He’s perennially blind to the attractive young women who keep falling in love with him, the anti-James Bond. He also has a gift for saying the wrong thing at precisely the wrong moment, so these women may be better off without him.

More educated than either Sergeant Brunswick or Inspector Steine, he correctly assumes he’s got more on the ball. But he can seldom convince them of anything, and his manners don’t help. Mrs. Groynes mentors him, when it suits her purposes, fully aware that no matter what Twitten says, he’ll remain the only copper in Brighton who knows she’s a criminal.

As I hope you’ve gathered by now, Murder by Milk Bottle is a riot. I’ve never laughed so often at a mystery, one that recalls British film comedies from the 1960s about blundering police, criminals, or both. (See, for example, The Wrong Arm of the Law, released in 1963, in which Peter Sellers plays a mobster named Pearly Gates.) But Truss has her own style, often witty, very often madcap, never taking itself too seriously.

The plot churns merrily, with wry twists and clever turnabouts. You know that the bunglers will bungle, yet will somehow triumph in the end; you just don’t know how. The mystery narration itself is so clever that you’ll keep guessing (wrongly) until the end. And will the characters learn anything? I doubt it.

There’s plenty of wordplay. My favorite is the Cockney rhyming slang, in which the phrase “best whistle” refers to whistle and flute, meaning suit; or “boat,” short for boat race, meaning face. But there’s also Twitten’s predilection for psych talk, which is ridiculously funny, and the name of the girls’ school, Lady Laura Laridae (Laridae is the class of sea birds that includes gulls). And finally I’ll cite the author’s play on the famous advertising phrase of the dairy industry, Drinka Pinta Milka Day, which a waggish Brighton newspaper publisher, considering all the mayhem, turns into Drinka Pinta Deatha Day.

None of this surprises me, given Truss’s fame for Eats, Shoots & Leaves, her plea against the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue, as Professor Higgins put it in My Fair Lady. But I tell you, if she wishes to write a mystery revolving around death by comma (Oxford or inverted), I’m down for that. ( )

I simply fail to connect with the characters and plots in the Constable Twitten series. I began reading this one a couple months ago. I decided I had too much else on my mind to continue it and would pause it until I was past some things that demanded more of my attention. Unfortunately I never felt I understood what was going on other than that someone had been murdered by a milk bottle. I think I'll stick to Truss' non-fiction in the future. I received an advance review copy through NetGalley with a hope, but not requirement of, an honest review. Mine is very tardy. Frankly, if I had not won this book and felt obligated to review it, I would have abandoned it. ( )

Brighton England has seen plenty of crime in the short time Constable Twitten has been working there and he wouldn’t a bit if things quieted down. Unfortunately, his wish is not granted as three murder victims turn up – all having been murdered by someone using a milk bottle. Twitten, Sergeant Brunswick, and Inspector Steine investigate the murders even if Steine is distracted by his role as a judge at a contest at a local milk bar. Maybe it is a good thing that none of them know about the other devious events going on in Brighton.

“Murder by Milk Bottle” is the delightful third book in Lynne Truss’s Constable Twitten mystery series – the more books I read in this series, the more it becomes one of my favorite series. (It is best to read this series in order since there are recurring themes carried from book to book.) The mysteries are a bit darker than I usually read (I am a cozy mystery fan) but also wickedly funny and so intricately plotted that I am amazed that Truss can keep track of it all. The characters are great – Inspector Steine who is clues about all the criminal activity in Brighton but still manages to win accolades; Sergeant Brunswick who has a thing for young ladies, loves going undercover to investigate cases, has a penchant for getting shot in the leg, and is one snack away from figuring everything out; beloved Cockney charlady Mrs. Groynes who is much more than someone who cleans the police station; and Constable Twitten who is brilliant at solving crimes and analyzing people but not so good at figuring out what people think of him or analyzing himself. In another author’s hands any/all of these characters would be unlikable but Truss somehow makes these characters work – I especially love the relationship between Twitten and Mrs. Groynes. The main mystery is very well done as are the smaller mysteries and other plotlines in the book – you may think you know where the story is going but Truss is very good at having things go in a totally different direction than you expected.

“Murder by Milk Bottle” is another well done mystery by Lynne Truss – my one complaint is that I now have to wait for the next one! ( )

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. ( )