Book Review: Murder as a Working Hypothesis by RJ Beynon

Hey there creative friend!

It's been a while since I have read a book to review it, but I love my amateur sleuths so couldn't say no to this one. And having met the author, there was an added incentive 😉

And no, I don't get anything in return for the review. A short review will also be available on Goodreads.

Buy the book Amazon (Available from 15 July 2026)

Linzé's impressions   ★★★★

The story: James and Inky Clatterbridge live on a houseboat in Abbey Marina. A horror fiction writer, James becomes intrigued by the case when his wife discovers a dead man in their allotment.

Having a theory of his own, he starts to ask questions, but things don't turn out way he thought. Even narrowly missing a jail cell of his own in the process.

But persistence, and a following a few not so obvious clues, he might just identify the killer before he gets killed himself.

My thoughts: The characters are well developed and despite the number of suspects and neighbours, it was not difficult to keep track of where the story was going. Geese, ducks, and dogs, notwithstanding.

I liked James and Inky and the way the author handled James' mobility issues. The background story flowed around the characters as James and Inky went about their lives, and dealt with the police and their gathering of information.

The story in general reminded me of the old mysteries: the sleuth worked on the case, but also kept it low-key to gather the evidence to find the killer.

My only criticism of the story is that, unlike modern amateur sleuth stories, the main characters have no history. There is no background about who they are, and why they live on the houseboat or if they had any other living arrangements before that. Something else that took me a while to notice was the interaction between James and Inky: while you learn that they are married, their relationship feels more intellectual than a relationship between husband and wife. It is not a romance novel, but the relationship didn't feel like that of a married couple.

Overall impression: I liked the story and recommend it for lovers of the amateur sleuth genre.