3 1/2 stars

George Hawken is a an artist who lives on the Cornwall coast in idyllic semi-seclusion.

"George, who had never married, had devoted the greater part of his life to painting. His work had never been favorably received, perhaps because it was too imaginative. Now and then he had sold a picture, and this sufficed for his modest requirements. He lived by himself and employed no helper. He did all the housework, and took a pride in doing it efficiently. He was wont to say that there could be as much art in cooking and washing up as in painting pictures."

A harmless fellow, popular enough with his neighbors, and content with his peaceful life. However, all that comes to an end one day when he falls - or is pushed - from a cliff to his death. It soon becomes apparent that George's death is not natural, but why would anyone kill him? He had no apparent enemies and little money. His paintings don't sell very well, so they are hardly a motive for murder. Then there are two more murders and the reason for George's death becomes very clear.

This gets off to a good start, but then fizzles towards the end and wraps everything up a little too quickly and neatly. Burton (real name: Cecil John Street) likes to tie everything up in a nice, neat package. Murderers are tried, convicted and executed, and non-murderous criminals are sent to prison. The good guys are rewarded. Burton has a strong sense of right and wrong that looks rather simplistic nowadays. Characterization is not his strong point. His characters don't come to life like those of [a:Agatha Christie|123715|Agatha Christie|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1321738793p2/123715.jpg], [a:Rex Stout|41112|Rex Stout|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1201136975p2/41112.jpg] or [a:Phoebe Atwood Taylor|62175|Phoebe Atwood Taylor|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1326565505p2/62175.jpg]. His detectives, especially Merrion, have a tendency to lecture, which can get tedious.

However, Burton does a good job with his settings, especially in this mystery with the small Cornish town of Port Bosun. His puzzles are quite good and he is good with red herrings. He doesn't play fair, though. I know of one mystery (not this one) where the killer was mentioned only in passing and didn't make an appearance until the book was almost over. I've never seen that anywhere else.

All in all, though, this is a good mystery, late in Burton's career (1960). He passed away in 1964, so this was one of his last books.