Beneath These Stones by
Ann Granger
hbk out July 99
Published by Headline
at £16.99
This is the latest in a long line of Mitchell and Markby mysteries, but the first that I've encountered, and is set somewhere in the West Country, in a small rural community. Tammy Franklin, twelve-year-old daughter of farmer Hugh Franklin, is very much at the centre of the mystery surrounding the murder of her recently acquired stepmother Sonia. When the finger of suspicion seems to be levelled at Hugh, Tammy and her Uncle Simon, Hugh's brother, and Jane Brady, Tammy's teacher, are swift to come to his defence. To Inspector Dave Pearce it seems an open and shut case, although an alternative suspect if required is to be found in gypsy Danny Smith who found Sonia's body on a railway embankment close to the Franklin farm.
Despite initially delegating the case to Inspector Pearce, Superintendent Markby becomes more involved than he would like to be owing to his girlfriend Meredith Mitchell's interest in the proceedings. She is a friend of Jane Brady who has asked for her help in clearing Hugh. Along the way we also meet Bethan, Simon Franklin's former girlfriend and friend of Sonia, Jane's ex, who is a furniture maker, and the Hayward twins and their parents Derry and Belinda who live on the adjoining farm to the Franklins.
I liked this book, I felt comfortable with the story which was quite believable, and also with the use of language. It sounded as I imagine it would given the characters and location. Cosy, yes, but not implausible, both in the plot and the characterisations. There are, of course, stereotypes, but stereotypical characters do exist and it wasn't hard to accept them, given the underlying humour in much of Ms. Granger's description. I've read more complex puzzles than this, though there are a few twists leading to the solution, but it was an easy and pleasant read that rarely had me say to myself,Oh no, it would never have happened like
that. If this is your genre, I recommend this novel.
Beneath These Stones by
Ann Granger