A Season for Murder (Mitchell & Markby 2)


Book Description

The Boxing Day Hunt leads to a hunt for a killer... A Season for Murder is the second cosy and colourful English village mystery in Ann Granger's Mitchell & Markby series. This thrilling whodunit will enthral fans of Colin Dexter, Agatha Christie and ITV's Midsomer Murders. 'A good feel for understated humour, a nice ear for dialogue' - The Times It is with some trepidation that Meredith Mitchell returns to the Cotswolds: the Bamford district holds memories that, to put it generously, are bittersweet, and Christmas is a difficult time to find oneself a stranger in a new area. Yet she receives a kindly welcome, in particular from her old acquaintance Chief Inspector Markby and from her new neighbour Harriet Needham, a striking redhead with whom Meredith immediately feels a certain kinship. But Meredith has barely got to know her neighbour when Harriet is involved in a shocking - and fatal - accident at the Boxing Day Hunt. Witnesses to the death are plentiful, for the incident occurred in Bamford's crowded market square, and many are adamant it's a case of murder. Chief Inspector Markby is inclined to agree, although he suspects the guilty party is not the most obvious one. Before long Meredith Mitchell begins, reluctantly, to think he might be right ... What readers are saying about A Season for Murder: 'The writing is witty and engaging, the characters are well rounded and the reader is left wanting to know more about what might happen in the future to them' 'The interplay between Mitchell and Markby and the clashes and stresses of their own lives nicely balances the intelligent plots' 'Really addictive. Very cleverly woven'




A Restless Evil


Book Description

Legendary Stovey Woods has always seemed threatening, but for decades the danger has remained dormant. Now it appears a long dead murder case is being reopened as another victim appears with remarkable similarities.




Shades of Murder


Book Description

Since the end of the nineteenth century, the Oakley family of Bamford, England, has lived in the shadow of tragedy. In 1889, Cora Oakley died by inhaling a poisonous gas in her sleep, and her husband William was put on trial for the murder. Although the case was dismissed, Oakley's reputation was ruined, and he fled the country, never to be heard from again. Over a hundred years later, the only remaining members of the Oakley family are two elderly sisters living in Bamford, who exist in poverty in their rambling ancestral home, Fourways. Unable to maintain their mansion, the sisters have decided to sell the house and live comfortably on the proceeds. But a young Polish man named Jan appears, claiming to be William Oakley's great-grandson and brandishing what he alleges is Oakley's will, which entitles him to half the profits from the sale. The sisters panic, knowing that, although Jan's claims don't stand up, a court case could drag on for years, and time is not on their side. When Jan is found dead, poisoned by the same substance used to kill his great-grandmother so many years ago, it seems that murder has returned to haunt the Oakley family once again, and Superintendent Markby must unravel two mysteries, one from a hundred years ago, to find the killer. In Shades of Murder, Ann Granger has crafted another tough case for Mitchell and Markby.




That Way Murder Lies


Book Description

Meredith Mitchell is delighted when an old friend from her consular days, Toby Smythe, turns up on leave between foreign postings. But Toby has a problem---or rather his relative Alison Jenner has---and Toby wants to enlist the help of Meredith's fiancé, Detective Superintendent Alan Markby. Alison has been receiving anonymous hate mail in which reference is made to a time twenty-five years earlier when she stood trial for the murder of her aunt, Freda Kemp, but was acquitted. Who is the writer, and how does he or she know about this secret in Alison's past? Markby is reluctant to become involved, not least because Toby is hardly his favorite person. Besides, he and Meredith are planning their wedding, and distractions aren't welcome. But inquiries into a poisoned pen campaign soon turn into a murder investigation. With the help of Inspector Jessica Campbell, a new member of Markby's team, and the non-professional but enthusiastic assistance of Meredith and Toby, the inquiry unravels a twenty-five-year-old mystery and its dreadful legacy of violence.




Beneath These Stones


Book Description

Life has not been easy for 12-year-old Tammy Franklin. Her mother has passed away, and now her father's new wife has been found stabbed to death. Superintendent Markby is the first on the scene, and he must protect Tammy, as her father is the primary suspect. No one is talking, and Markby and Mitchell are faced with a truth far more complex than they imagined.




Flowers for His Funeral


Book Description

When Meredith Mitchell bumps into her old schoolfriend Rachel Hunter at the Chelsea Flower Show it doesn't take Meredith long to realise that she and the effortlessly self-confident blonde have even less in common now than they had as teenagers. Apart from one thing - Meredith's companion, Chief Inspector Markby. For to the embarrassment of all concerned, except of course the self-possessed Rachel, Meredith's old schoolfriend turns out to have been Markby's former wife, from whom he was divorced years before in less than friendly circumstances. The meeting with Rachel is not the only surprise the Flower Show has in store for Markby - before the afternoon is out he has a death on his hands. All too quickly he and Meredith find themselves drawn into the plush, apparently well-run world Rachel and her second husband created for themselves in their Cotswold home, Malefis Abbey, a world which Markby becomes increasingly convinced harbours a highly skilled murderer ...




Where Old Bones Lie


Book Description

Meredith Mitchell has joined her friend, archaeologist Ursula Gretton, in the Cotswold village farmland, digging for the old bones of Saxon warriors. But it's the discovery of some very new bones that brings Inspector Alan Markby to the ancient burial grounds to solve a modern day murder.




Murder Among Us (Mitchell & Markby 4)


Book Description

A dispute between an entrepreneur and the village locals turns deadly... A gala turns grisly in Murder Among Us, the fourth probing mystery in Ann Granger's gripping Mitchell & Markby series. The perfect read for fans of Ann Purser, Agatha Christie and ITV's Midsomer Murders. 'Told with humour and a most engaging worldliness' - Birmingham Post When ambitious hotelier Eric Schuhmacher announces he is to turn Springwood Hall, near the market town of Bamford, into a smart Cotswold country-house hotel, the news is greeted by a chorus of local disapproval, led by the redoubtable Hope Mapple. So the gala opening, to which all the disaffected parties have been invited, promises to be quite an event - not least because the amply upholstered Hope Mapple is planning a disruptive streak protest. But Hope's lightning dash is unexpectedly upstaged by a far more shocking event: the discovery of a recently murdered body on the premises. The victim is a local woman, and for Chief Inspector Markby and his guest Meredith Mitchell what had promised to be a diverting summer treat suddenly turns into a horribly serious affair ... What readers are saying about Murder Among Us: 'A truly intriguing and sympathetic book' 'A wonderful village mystery, that satisfies on all levels. Her [Ann Granger's] cast of characters are all wonderfully eccentric and provide you with many hours of joy' 'These stories are intricate enough to make you think and easy to read at the same time'




An Unfinished Murder: Campbell & Carter Mystery 6


Book Description

AN UNFINISHED MURDER is the sixth Cotswold village crime novel in Ann Granger's Campbell and Carter series. Sure to appeal to fans of Midsomer Murders and M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin mysteries. Mitchell and Markby come out of retirement to crack a cold case... As young children, Josh Browning and his sister, Dilys, stumbled across a dead body while playing on the outskirts of their Cotswold village. Terrified by what they'd seen, neither of them told a soul. Now, twenty years later, Josh finds the dead woman's charm bracelet among his sister's possessions. Who better to tell than his trusted friend, the man he gardens for, retired Superintendent Alan Markby? As Markby listens to Josh's confession, alarm bells start to ring. The dates and details tie in with a missing person case that was never solved. Joining forces with Superintendent Ian Carter, who also investigated the original case, and Inspector Jess Campbell, from the region where the missing girl was last seen, Markby delves into the unsolved mystery. Together, they are determined to catch a clever killer who almost got away with murder...




Rack, Ruin and Murder (Campbell & Carter Mystery 2)


Book Description

A dead body shatters the tranquillity of a Cotswold village... Inspector Jess Campbell and Superintendent Ian Carter are put to work after the discovery of a dead body in a cosy Cotswold village. Ann Granger's second Campbell and Carter mystery, Rack, Ruin and Murder, will enthral fans of Rebecca Tope, Agatha Christie and ITV's Midsomer Murders. 'She is on to another winner' - Birmingham Post When old Monty Bickerstaffe finds a dead body in his drawing room it comes as a nasty surprise - the first of many. Monty lives alone in a crumbling Cotswold manor house and the last thing he wants is the police sniffing around his property. Not that he has anything to hide... The identity of the corpse and how and why it was left in Monty's home remain a mystery. The locals swear they've seen nothing unusual and Monty's relatives claim they've never set eyes on the stiff before. But Inspector Jess Campbell is convinced that someone's lying and, with the help of Superintendent Ian Carter, she must dig deep into Monty's family history to reveal the shocking truth... What readers are saying about Rack, Ruin and Murder: 'The book contains humour, intrigue, poignancy and the entire story is one which is easily followed' 'Ann Granger's best ever murder mystery with a brilliant ending of unguessable twists and turns - unputdownable' 'A great follow up to the first book in this series. The descriptions made you feel like you were there'