Beneath These Stones : A Mitchell and Markby Mystery

Rating:
Summary: Reads like an early Deborah Crombie....
Review: If you want an easy to read and mildly entertaining book for a long flight somewhere-this is the book for you. The characters are sterotypical--including a career policeman with a failed marriage, his professional but meddlesome girl-friend, a troubled child, her caring teacher, an embittered husband (of the corpse-natch), and gypsies not much different from Auntie Mabel and Uncle Herbert who bought a camper for traveling around the U.K. Heck, this book isn't even scary. Granger will make a mistake if she marries the two main characters at some point--then there'll be no tension. Well, I read it anyway, but hey, I'm home sick today with a head cold.

Rating:
Summary: Good addition to this long-running mystery series
Review: Inspector Alan Markby asks his long time girlfriend Meredith Mitchell to marry him, but she rejects his request. They continue to see one another, but their relationship has turned awkward as neither one is fully comfortable with the other at this time.

That changes when Alan begins an investigation that Meredith finds interesting. The Smith family members are tinkers who always stay on the Hazlewood Farm when they are in the area. This time when they park their camper, the murdered corpse of the farmer's wife greets the Smith patriarch. The tinker and the deceased's spouse Hugh report her stabbing death to the police. The victim's adolescent daughter Tammy is distraught over the woman's death and worries what will happen to her and he father, especially since evidence points towards Hugh. Tammy's teacher asks her friend Meredith to uncover the truth behind the slaying. Meredith and Alan travel down numerous paths in search of that elusive truth.

The twelfth Mitchell and Markby mystery remarkably retains its freshness due to the twists to their relationship. Readers obtain a glimpse of life in a small British village through the eyes of the lead characters. Alan and Meredith narrate the story line. That method works as it provides insight into what each one is thinking about their relationship as well as the case. The police investigation is entertaining especially the behind the scenes activities of an aid. An Ann Granger novel is always a wonderful reading experience and BENEATH THESE STONES proves the veracity of that statement.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Satisfying but not outstanding
Review: There's nothing really remarkable about this book to make it resonate in a reader's memory. On the other hand, if you like English village mysteries - with the implied promise that the villain can be found among the residents described and won't turn out to be a passing serial killer - you'll appreciate this story. Granger gives us plenty of players with motives and doesn't make it easy to spot the crucial one. Unfortunately, her leading characters have come to an "awkward" point in their relationship and aren't a lot of fun to be with. Let's hope they work things out before becoming less pleasant company than the bad guys they're chasing.