{"product_id":"the-night-they-killed-joss-varran-volume-49-9781504092562","title":"The Night They Killed Joss Varran: Volume 49","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe murder of a convict on the night of his release brings Littlejohn to the silent marshes of the Isle of Man in this thrilling British mystery novel.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA deckhand and petty criminal, Joss Varran was set to return home after a year in jail. Instead, he's found dead in a ditch not far from his sister's cottage. While Varran was never well liked, it's a mystery why anyone would bother to kill him . . . \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFacing a dead end, Inspector Knell of the Manx police calls in his friend from Scotland Yard, Chief Superintendent Littlejohn. Together they find that Varran was up to no good while working on a container ship between Ramsey and Preston. It seems the dockhand may have gotten in over his head . . . so much so that prison would seem like a safe place to hide . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow the two investigators chase a trail of clues to find those responsible for Varran's death . . . and prevent others from meeting the same fate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGeorge Bellairs was the pseudonym of Harold Blundell (1902-1985), an English crime author best known for the creation of Detective-Inspector Thomas Littlejohn. Born in Heywood, near Lancashire, Blundell introduced his famous detective in his first novel, \u003ci\u003eLittlejohn on Leave\u003c\/i\u003e (1941). A low-key Scotland Yard investigator whose adventures were told in the Golden Age style of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, Littlejohn went on to appear in more than fifty novels, including \u003ci\u003eThe Crime at Halfpenny Bridge\u003c\/i\u003e (1946), \u003ci\u003eOutrage on Gallows Hill \u003c\/i\u003e(1949), and \u003ci\u003eThe Case of the Headless Jesuit\u003c\/i\u003e (1950). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In the 1950s Bellairs relocated to the Isle of Man, a remote island in the Irish Sea, and began writing full time. He continued writing Thomas Littlejohn novels for the rest of his life, taking occasional breaks to write standalone novels, concluding the series with \u003ci\u003eAn Old Man Dies\u003c\/i\u003e (1980). \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Open Road Media Mystery \u0026 Thri","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50911972950290,"sku":"9781504092562","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a4764563-66db-4755-9046-f5517f288ba6.jpg?v=1738762135","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-night-they-killed-joss-varran-volume-49-9781504092562","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}