I had gotten a little behind in my reading of Bruce Beckham’s Inspector Skelgill mysteries, set in Cumberland, which is why I’m reviewing another so soon after reviewing the previous installment. This new one, Murder, Mere Murder, is one of the best of the series, I think.

Buttermere is the lake near which Inspector Skelgill grew up, but he doesn’t get up there much anymore. It’s out of the way, and has no good boat access for fishing – beside which, the fishing isn’t very good anyway.

But one day a couple hobby divers discover a woman’s body, wrapped in plastic, at the bottom of the mere. Immediately Skelgill heads for the area, along with his subordinates, Sergeants Jones and Leyton, to find out whether anybody’s missing. Initially, clues are few. Yet there is no lack of shady citizens who seem to have one or two secrets. A couple local men were having affairs with mysterious women who might conceivably have been the deceased. And there’s a strange lesbian couple, one of them a famous mystery writer, who both show an unexpected sexual interest in Skelgill. Meanwhile, an ambitious police rival is jockeying to grab the case for himself.

There’s a lot of subtle humor here as Skelgill deals with the predatory lesbians, but there’s also well-crafted rising tension and a climax worthy of a movie.

My only quibbles are (as usual) the present tense narrative (though it doesn’t really bother me; I only object on principle), and the fact that the author misuses the phrase, “begs the question.” He should know better.

Quite entertaining. Recommended.