Death Drops the Pilot — George Bellairs

Things get murky when a ferry captain is found dead in the water in this mystery starring Inspector Littlejohn, “the model of a calm, rational policeman” (Publishers Weekly).
 
After a ferry to Falbright carrying forty people runs aground, the skipper is nowhere to be found. When the ferry pilot is discovered under a pier with a knife in his back, Inspector Littlejohn is called in. But he and Sergeant Cromwell are struggling to find clues. Some of the villagers seem to be going out of their way to mislead the police, and there are secrets dating back to the war that need to be unearthed or the entire investigation could be sunk . . .
 
“When you get a George Bellairs story you get something worth reading.” -- Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch