“Murder Under the Bridge” by Roy Lewis

Arnold Landon is planning a two-week vacation from his job at the Department of Museums and Antiquities in Morpeth in Northumberland in northern England. He’s promised to help his friend Jane do research for her historical novel. His director had approved the holiday leave, when he suddenly reneges, loaning Arnold to an archaeological dig be completed before the site is redeveloped. 

Meanwhile, Detective Chief Inspector Culpepper has to tackle a gruesome case. The body of man has been found, the victim shot in the head and then his chest carved open in what seems like some kind of ritual. The pressure is on to find the murderer, but leads are next to none. Culpepper gets some help from a police officer in Sussex, who’s investigating two similar killings and knows of two more in France and Switzerland. The only connection among the victims seems to be that they’re all Englishmen. 

 

And then another body turns up, this one a man who’d been on the archaeological team. And it’s Arnold and Jane who find the body. Culpepper is less than thrilled; he’s encountered Arnold several times before and the man always seems to be instrumental in solving the crimes, much to Culpepper’s chagrin. 

 

Roy Lewis

Murder Under the Bridge is the eighth novel in the Arnold Landon series by Roy Lewis. It’s somewhat different from its predecessors, in that it takes some time before the police investigation and Arnold’s activities begin to converge. But like the earlier stories, it’s well written and full of well-researched historical information – in this case, about the Vikings.

 

Lewis (1933-2019) was the author of some 60 other mysteries, novels, and short story collections. His Inspector Crow series includes A Lover Too Many, Murder in the Mine, The Woods Murder, Error of Judgment, and Murder for Money, among others. The Eric Ward series, of which The Sedleigh Hall Murder is the first (and originally published as A Certain Blindness in 1981), includes 17 novels. Lewis lived in northern England. 

 

Related:

 

Murder in the Tower by Roy Lewis. 

 

Murder in the Church by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Barn by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Manor by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Farmhouse by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the Stableyard by Roy Lewis.

 

Murder in the House by Roy Lewis.

 

Error in Judgment by Roy Lewis.

Some Monday Readings

 

American beauty – poem and artwork by Sonja Benskin Mesher.

 

Little League, Then and Now – Anthony Esolen at Front Porch Republic.

 

The Myth That Writing is Hard – Dean Wesley Smith.