Beneath These Stones [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Ann Granger (Author), Bill Wallis (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2000

First, Tammy Franklin lost her mother to illness, then her new stepmother's body was found in a railway embankment near the Franklin farm. And this time the death is murder. As Superintendent Markby knows only too well, Tammy stands to have her father taken away from her: For Hugh Franklin is the main suspect...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her 12th mystery featuring British civil servant Meredith Mitchell and her policeman lover, Alan Markby, Granger probes the secrets of an unhappy family to discover the truth behind a nasty murder. Gypsy Danny Smith is checking his rabbit traps in a wooded area near a railway embankment when he makes a grisly discovery: the body of the wife of a local farmer, Hugh Franklin. Smith conceals evidence that places the farmer's daughter, 12-year-old Tammy, at the scene. Soon the police are investigating the crime, and Markby finds himself drawn into the investigation. Meredith also becomes involved, through an acquaintance, Jane Brady, who is one of Tammy's teachers. Could Tammy or her father have murdered Sonia Franklin? Jane believes passionately in their innocence, but there seem to be few other suspects, other than Danny Smith or Hugh Franklin's brother, Simon, a well-known historian. While trying to sort out a lull in their often touchy relationship, Meredith and Alan approach the case from different angles, eventually arriving at the tragic truth. As usual, Granger offers a tidily constructed, enjoyable whodunit. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Yet another homicide for Superintendent Alan Markbys Bamford precinct (Call the Dead Again, 1999, etc.). Widower Hugh Franklin, owner of none-too-prosperous Hazelwood Farm and father of 12-year-old Tammy, had taken another wife, fun-loving, man-chasing Sonia Lambert. As might be predicted, the marriage had never worked too well, but Hugh, his bookish brother Simon, and everyone who knew her are shocked when Sonias body, stabbed to death, is found on a nearby railway embankment by gypsy Danny Smith. As Markby and newly promoted Inspector Dave Pearce begin their investigation, Jane Brady, Tammys teacher at St. Clares, tries to help but soon suspects that Tammy is hiding something. Markbys girlfriend Meredith Mitchell, a Foreign Service worker now based in London and owner of an ancient cottage in Bamford, also tries to help by checking out the suspects who had reason to cheer Sonias death. The line begins just down the road from Hazelwood Farm, at the modest B&B run by Derry and Belinda Haywood. Derry was one of Sonias flings; so was woodworker Peter Burke, once involved with Jane. Simon Franklin, recently broken up and then reconciled with Bethan Talbot, was another of Sonias targets. Not until Merediths house has been thoroughly vandalizedand Derry Haywood viciously attacked, and Tammy has told alldoes the solution arrive. The customary assortment of intriguing locals adds interest and a bit of tension to a generally phlegmatic plot: a boon, nevertheless, to lovers of the British village procedural. -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Chivers Audio Books; Unabridged edition (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754004538
• ISBN-13: 978-0754004530
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,470,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good addition to this long-running mystery series, February 17, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beneath These Stones: A Mitchell and Markby Mystery (Meredith and Markby Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Satisfying but not outstanding, September 9, 2001

By 

Diane Davis (San Ramon, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beneath These Stones: A Mitchell and Markby Mystery (Meredith and Markby Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.

4.0 out of 5 stars Markby and Mitchell Mystery Number 12, January 8, 2012

By 

Sires "I enjoy mysteries, historical and proc... (Chesapeake, OH, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beneath These Stones (Audible Audio Edition)

Beneath these stones is a phrase that usually appears when talking about a burial ground but it refers in this case to more than bodies underground. The first death in this case occurs before the mysterious death. Tammy Franklin's mother dies and her father, Hugh, remarries Sonia less than a year later. The relationship is a stormy one with Tammy resenting Sonia and Hugh and Sonia rowing. Then one night Sonia leaves and does not come home.

Meredith Mitchell is on her way into the city by train when there is a hold up and outside the window of the train she notices a bright green, frog shaped backpack hanging from a tree branch.

Tammy's teacher, Jane, has noticed that Tammy is not having an easy adjustment with her mother's death and her father's remarriage. Then she hears that Tammy's step mother has been found dead and offers her help to the family. She is also Meredith's friend and draws Meredith into the mystery of Sonia's death.

Although Alan Markby is not officially involved in the case he ends up doing some sleuthing on his own.

Add to this Simon Franklin, a historian, Hugh's brother and a group of Travellers that have a long history with the Franklin family.

Meredith and Markby as usual take different roads toward the solution of the mystery.

This is available on Audible in an approximately 9 hour and 30 minute unabridged version. The narrator is Bill Wallis, who, as usual does an excellent job with all of the characters. He's one of my favorites when combine with a British mystery. If you enjoy his work on this one you ought to check out his narration on Carnage on the Committee.