Superintendent Alan Markby and Meredith Mitchell are in desperate need of a holiday - and the Cotswold village of Parsloe St John seems the perfect choice. Their neighbour, retired journalist Wynne Carter, is as convivial as the village itself and, over a glass of blackberry wine, indulges in her latest obsession, Olivia Smeaton, a racy old lady whose life - and death - she is convinced are not all they seem. Markby is more interested in buying Olivia's house than the circumstances of her vacating it, but Meredith is intrigued: by the old lady, the death of a cherished horse and a dusty junk shop run by a white witch. When another fatality - of a very grisly nature - is discovered, it seems her suspicion is justified. Clearly Olivia isn't the only enigma in Parsloe St John - and her death might be the first of many unless Meredith Mitchell and Alan Markby can make sense of some very secret lives to reach the truth ...
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
While the sleuthing duo of Inspector Alan Markby and his diplomat lover, Meredith Mitchell (last seen in Touch of Mortality, 1997), are rather quiet on these pages, this tale of secret doings in the remote English village of Parsloe St. John is carefully nuanced and concludes with a couple of fine surprises. Reclusive old Olivia Smeaton trips, apparently, and falls to her death. Her beloved horse Firefly is mysteriously poisoned, and then the large, unkempt body of Ernie, an illiterate local handyman, is found in one spot while his severed head shows up in another. Close to the village, evidence of recent satanic activity is found near three ancient stone statues. All this adds up to a busman's holiday for vacationing Markby and Mitchell, who are considering early retirement and have come to the area in search of a house to buy. The secretive Olivia's past (she was once a society lady and famous car racer) heightens curiosity about her long period of seclusion. The village boasts a tarty cleaning lady; Kevin, the abused and seemingly simpleminded offspring of Ernie; and Sadie, a shopkeeper and practicing witch. The narrative captures an accelerating tension and delivers final revelations that startle while remaining true to the nature of the characters in question. Granger's latest offers abundant, understated pleasures.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Bamford's Chief Inspector Alan Markby and longtime girlfriend Meredith Mitchell (A Touch of Morality, 1997, etc.) are on holiday in the tiny village of Parsloe St. John, staying in the cottage bequeathed to Markby's brother-in-law Paul by his late Aunt Florrie. Meantime, next-door neighbor, retired journalist Wynne Carter, is worried about another recent deaththat of wealthy, elderly recluse Olivia Smeaton, dead of a fall down the staircase of the Rookery, her elegant manor house. Wynne's not convinced the fall was accidental and wants Markby to investigate--unofficially, of course. And so Markby and Meredith soon run into a few of the village's odd characters: Olivia's housecleaner Janine Catto, unmarried mother of two; Ernie Berry, a hard- drinking bully, ladies' man, and odd-job worker; his loutish son Kevin, and junk-shop owner Sadie Warren, rumored to be a witch and the leader of strange doings at the site of ancient standing stones on the towns outskirts. Some troubling acts of vandalism begin to seem trivial after Meredith comes upon the headless corpse of Ernie Berry on the grounds of the Rookery. It takes Markby's meeting with Olivia's detested brother-in-law Lawrence, lots of help from Meredith, and the remainder of their vacation before this two-sided puzzle is solved. The story's meandering mysteries are less compelling than Grangers depiction of an insular mini-society. Lovers of the village traditional will find little suspense but an adequate measure of leisurely entertainment. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another good read by ann Granger,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Word After Dying (Hardcover)
Inspector Alan Markby and his girlfriend Meredith Mitchell share a holiday in Parsloe St. John where they learn that an old woman recently died when she tripped and fell down some stairs. Thinking of early retirement, Alan is very interested in buying the deceased's cottage while Meredith wonders if the rumors of murder are true. Alan's disinterest in the senior citizen's death rapidly changes when the head of a handyman is found severed from the body. Other evidence of nearby satanic worship also exists. Instead of a laid back restful holiday, Alan and Meredith begin a working vacation as they investigate the rash of strange doings, that have rocked the tiny village and its eccentric people. A WORD AFTER DYING is a very interesting entry in the Markby-Mitchell mystery series because the lead protagonists are not quite featured as much as in previous entries. Instead the local villagers seem to dominate the story line as Alan and Meredith propel their stories and the who-done-it forward. Surprisingly, this cleverly works, turning the story line into an invigorating, very interesting novel. Fans of the series and the English cozy need to read Ann Granger's newest novel (as well as the rest of the series) to enjoy some of the top books in the sub-genre. Harriet Klausner
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic English Village Mystery!,
By
This review is from: A Word After Dying (Meredith and Markby Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
Ann Granger's Markby and Mitchell series is a very satisfying one. She has the genre of the English village mystery down to a tee. In this book Meredith and Alan are on vacation in the Cotswolds, and even there they can't get away from strange happenings and murder. They discover a witch's coven, the village Romeo and even the village young man who has a lot of psychological problems. I really enjoy the way the Meredith and Alan's relationship is progressing. They are are good complimentary sleuthing duo. I enjoy a book that takes me to where the book is written, and one that feels like an old friend. Granger's series is this for me. Once I begin one of her books, I'm taken away from everything else in my life.
3.0 out of 5 stars
yet another village mystery,
By petronius (asheville NC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Word After Dying (Meredith and Markby Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
Granger's books would lead one to believe that English villages are among the most insular and dangerous places on earth. In this one she follows a rather predictable pattern that she has established in her earlier books. Alan Markby and Meredith Mitchell are vacationing in a village. Markby is asked to look into the unsuspicious death of a reclusive widow. Meredith gets, as always, a local historical angle to investigate. The mystery isn't all that interesting, but the characters have a certain charm, and that's what Granger's books are really about. This particular novel is poorly edited, with some typos and some words left out. Most of the omissions don't do any more than annoy the reader, but at one point there's a reference to Markby's sister, Laura, and to her husband Paul, who is described as Markby's brother. And yet Markby complains about the inbreeding in an English village! Granger's writing could be tighter. For instance, she describes a minor character -- a police officer -- at great length, when all he does is find a weapon and then disappear. Granger might heed Elmore Leonard's advice to "leave out the parts that people tend to skip." There is a nice twist at the end, though, which a careful reader might have anticipated from one clue, but it's not such a blatant clue that the surprise is ruined.
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