Mud, Muck and Dead Things [Paperback]

Ann Granger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 11, 2009

The first Campbell and Carter mystery from one of the nation's best-loved crime writers. Lucas Burton hates the countryside. To him it's nothing but mud, muck and dead things. And he's right. When he turns up at a deserted farm in the middle of nowhere hoping to conduct a business deal he stumbles across the body of a girl. And that's just the start of his bad luck: Penny Gower from the local stables has spotted his silver Mercedes leaving the scene of the crime. Suddenly, for Lucas, things are looking very bleak indeed...Inspector Jess Campbell is on the case, but with few leads and a new superintendent, Ian Carter, breathing down her neck, she's beginning to feel the pressure. Then another dead body is found...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ann Granger has worked in British embassies in various parts of the world. She met her husband, who was also working for the British Embassy, in Prague and together they received postings to places as far apart as Munich and Lusaka. They are now permanently based in Oxfordshire.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (June 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755320522
• ISBN-13: 978-0755320523
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,860,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mud, muck and dead bodies galore, March 4, 2010

By 

S. McGee (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mud Muck & Dead Things (Campbell & Carter Mystery 1) (Paperback)

When wheeler-dealer Lucas Barton arrives at the deserted Cricket Cottage to hold a meeting with a mysterious contact, he's less than happy about where he finds himself. The countryside, he muses, is full of mud (that spoils his shoes), muck and dead things -- which turn out to include a very dead young woman in the cowshed. Barton races out of there at top speed -- but his car has been spotted, the police are called, the body discovered and a police investigation begins.

Granger is a proficient and experienced author of British crime fiction; few of her novels transcend the genre in the way that those of some of the best mystery writers can, nor do they delve deeply into the psyche of her characters. While they aren't "cozy" crimes, they also aren't gritty or terrifically suspenseful, full of twists and turns. They contain puzzles, which the police unravel. That doesn't mean that those puzzles aren't good -- in this case, it wasn't until close to the end that I figured out which of the potential suspects was the guilty party. They are solid, unspectacular but ultimately satisfying detective novel set in Gloucestershire, a stone's throw away from the setting of her Cotswold mysteries (the Meredith & Markby series, which has now wrapped up.)

This series isn't quite as strong as the previous rural one, but I think that's because her characters aren't yet as developed. The new superintendent arrives after the body is discovered, and remains as much of an enigma at the end of the book as he was at the beginning -- it's Inspector Jess Campbell who is the main character here. Since this is billed as the first Campbell and Carter novel, it's a safe bet that will change in the years to come.

I still think Granger's best novels are The Companion (Lizzie Martin Mysteries), the first of two Victorian mysteries, and the early novels in her Fran Varady series, Asking for Trouble (Paragon Softcover Large Print Books) and Keeping Bad Company (A Fran Varady Crime Novel). Still, if you like novels set in rural England, and a solid mystery that is at heart a police procedural, this is a good option -- recommended to readers with those tastes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For those who prefer plot over characterization, July 8, 2010

By 

Cathy G. Cole (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mud Muck & Dead Things (Campbell & Carter Mystery 1) (Paperback)

First Line: "Mud, muck and dead things," muttered Lucas Burton. "I hate the country."

Lucas Burton hates the country, but as he tries not to ruin his handmade shoes in the rundown barnyard, he's mainly thinking of the business deal he wants to conduct with the person he's meeting. The deal flies out the window when Burton stumbles across the body of a young girl in a shed.

If he thought that was the end of his bad luck, it only took a matter of minutes for him to think again: the local stable owner spots his silver Mercedes leaving the scene of the crime. When the body is reported to the police, Inspector Jess Campbell is in charge of the case, but with a new superintendent, Ian Carter, keeping an eye on her, she is definitely feeling the pressure.

I enjoyed the convoluted plot where identities took some proving and no one seemed to be whom they said they were, but none of the characters came to life for me. The major case in point was Superintendent Ian Carter. He was on the scene so very little, he could've phoned in his scenes and I wouldn't have known the difference. For a character-driven reader not having even the slightest whiff of an interesting character was almost the kiss of death. Only the fast-paced plot kept me involved.

If you like plot over character, this is the book for you. As it is, Mud, Muck and Dead Things just wasn't my cuppa. I have other books by Granger on my shelves however, so all is not lost.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No Mitchell and Markby, March 24, 2010

By 

Deirdre Arntz - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mud, Muck and Dead Things (Campbell & Carter Mystery 1) (Hardcover)

Mud, Muck and Dead Things is not up to the Mitchell and Markby Series, The focus on the characters seems off. You don't learn much about the new Superintendent. The writing is not a deft as the previous series. Of course, I have never liked the books featuring Varaday.I am hoping the next Campbell and Carter is more complete.