Who is Silas Coombe from All About Love and what is their importance?

Silas Coombe is a local who is a colorful character. The first thing that people notice about Coombe is his odd sense of style. In Phyllida's words, he "contents himself with adopting all the extremes of fashion and wearing them all at once". Silas is one of the few suspects in Horatio's murder who has an obvious motive. Silas Coombe had the most extensive book collection around until Horatio moved to Colyton. Horatio's collection and his knowledge put Silas' collection and knowledge to shame. It was no secret that Silas held a grudge about this.