Welcome to my blog where I share my book reviews
and life along the winding road

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Front Page Murder by Peter Bartram

Front Page Murder (another story of Crampton of the Chronicle) by Peter Bartram will be out in just 12 days and I was fortunate to get an early copy in the mail yesterday in exchange for a review (I'll post my review on November 30).

I'm about half way through the read and find myself slowing down because I don't want it to end. Colin Crampton is a humorous character and delivers zingers and sarcasm beautifully. The art of bantering seems to be lost on the world outside England and I must say it's something I miss. Fortunately I do have one English friend here in Texas who can banter well.

Anyway, back to the story: The mystery is about the murder of a comic postcard (saucy postcard) artist and many of you might not have heard about comic postcards. I don't know about now, but in the sixties the postcards were available in all seaside towns, usually with saucy pictures and double entendre. Some of the postcards did not escape censorship though, due to the Obscene Publications Act of 1857 and in the 1950s many were banned. (The Post Office had to give permission for them to be sent through the mail.) One of the main artists of the postcards was Donald McGill who received very little income from his work, but his postcards are now worth thousands and The Donald McGill Museum has been opened on the Isle of Wight, in his honor, by his grandchildren.