Night at the Mocking Widow by Carter Dickson

Stoke Druid was a very small village in Somerset. It was a very old village, and was mainly noted for a tall group of stones, possibly of Druidic origin, in the northeast meadow near the river. A great problem had developed in the village and had gone unacknowledged for several weeks. That was until Sir Henry Merrivale arrived to visit Mr. Henry Danvers, a book dealer, in the village. It was Mr. Danvers who told Sir Henry about the anonymous letters that the residents of the village were receiving, and asked Sir Henry to find the person who was writing them and signing them "The Widow".  He even offered Sir Henry a very rare book as a reward for finding the writer.

Many of the occupants of the village had received the letters.  This included Joan Bailey and her father Colonel Bailey. Also there was Gordon West, a very successful author, and J. Cadman Hunter, the new, young vicar who was promising to read his letter from the pulpit on the next Sunday. The reading of this letter prompted many more residents to come forward with their letters which were given to Sir Henry Merrivale to analyze. It was very possible that one member of the village had committed suicide after receiving a letter, and a murder eventually occured as a result of attempts to find the author.

The book finally reaches its humorous conclusion at the church bazaar. Rain the previous evening had created a mud puddle down the center of the large hall in which the bazaar was held, but the ladies, in costume,  persisted in setting up their booths on both sides of the puddle. The event was well attended and even the bishop was there. Sir Henry was dressed in costume for the occasion, and somehow the whole thing got out of hand.

This book was published in 1950. I must admit that it is not my favorite Sir Henry Merrivale book. I think that it has a rather thin plot which is fleshed out with humorous scenes at the beginning and end, and some romance between Joan Bailey and the vicar. I have read this book for the 2018 Just the Facts, Ma'am Golden Mystery Challenge and it will be entered in my detective notebook in the category of When - During a special event - church bazaar.