Customer Reviews

Mud, Muck and Dead Things

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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.

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.

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.

Lucas Barton, an opportunist in business not always on the right side of the law, agrees to meet an old acquaintance, who wants to pitch an opportunity to him, at an abandoned farm yard in the Cotswolds. When his acquaintance doesn't show Barton investigates the site, trying to figure out what the mysterious opportunity he was promised might be, and discovers the body of a dead girl in an outbuilding. Being a less than model citizen he takes off in his Mercedes rather than staying around to report it and talk to the police.

Meanwhile, Penny Gower, who is trying to make a financial go of a stable a little further down the same road observes the Mercedes. She recognizes it isn't local as she reports later to her friend and accountant.

Add to this a local tragedy where the parents of a farm family was slain by one of their sons. The house where the tragedy occurred was afterwards boarded up by the surviving family member. An elderly man, he now sits down every night to dinner with the ghosts of his dead-- phantasms or fantasy?

Inspector Jess Campbell (last seen in one of the Mitchell and Markby books) is brought on the case with her boss, Superintendent Ian Carter. Both Campbell and Carter have their own baggage but it doesn't overwhelm the plot as they try to figure out who the dead girl was and why she was found in the outbuilding. Meanwhile the reader learns a lot about what is going on below the surface in the neighborhood. The emphasis is not on the private lives of the police but the lives of the civilians who become involved in the case.

A good mystery to pass an afternoon with, although if you live in the US it is only available on the secondary market or as an import. A friend shared his audio CD set and it's an entertaining listen with an excellent narrator and production values. However, geographical restrictions make it hard to obtain in the US.