Written in Blood [Hardcover]

Caroline Graham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1995

Barnaby and his aggressive sidekick, Sergeant Troy, investigate the murder of a member of the Midsomer Worthy Writers' Circle in an affluent village that is less tranquil than it appears. 15,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Many elements in Graham's Chief Inspector Barnaby mysteries harken back to Christie: a small English village setting, a cast of odd characters, a sagacious inspector with his loyal sergeant. In this fourth entry, following Death in Disguise, the Midsomer Worthy Writers' Circle invites author Max Jennings to speak to them. Circle member Gerald Hadleigh is opposed to the choice but refuses to explain. He asks fellow member Rex St. John to stay with him throughout Jennings's visit. But after the event, the elderly St. John is tricked into departing, leaving Hadleigh alone with Jennings. The next morning, Hadleigh is found bludgeoned to death and Jennings is gone. The members of the Writers' Circle respond variously. St. John falls into a deep depression; Laura Hutton, whose love of the victim was unrequited, pitches into a days-long crying and drinking jag; Honoria Lyddiard evinces little reaction; her sister-in-law, Amy, and Sue Clapton are suitably shocked. Sue's husband, Brian, seems almost "gleeful." The skill with which Graham evokes these characters and explores their individual, often damaged, emotional histories rings of Rendell and P.D. James. The few too many coincidences in the plot will be forgiven for the crisp pace and satisfying twist at the end.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This English procedural should warm the hearts of many with its humorous prose, odd characters, and traditional Inspector Barnaby. Barnaby investigates the murder of a writer's group member in a seemingly peaceful village. From the author of Death in Disguise (LJ 5/1/93).
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 387 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow and Company, Inc.; 1st edition (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688100244
• ISBN-13: 978-0688100247
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #570,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Underrated is an Understatement, April 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Written in Blood (Hardcover)

Caroline Graham may be the most underrated of the British mystery writers. In "Written in Blood" as well as "Death in Disguise," she has produced good puzzles and some of the best internal monologues of some of the most interesting and diagnosable characters ever to grace the pages of a whodunit. As a writer, she is comparable to Iris Murdoch in her ability to see the primordial ooze underlying all drawing room comedies. Her characters teeter on the edge of civilization and threaten to topple over through pure narcissism. What a delight: there we all are, the good, the bad, and the irrascible. That includes the good guys and the bad guys, though the bad guys are a bit worse than the others. I recommend her books to anyone who likes the British mystery genre and to anyone who enjoys a well-written comedy of manners...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, tart, dark and endlessly interesting, January 11, 2009

By 

Blue in Washington "Barry Ballow" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Written in Blood (Felony & Mayhem Mysteries) (Inspctr Barnaby) (Paperback)

What's better than a mystery that unravels slowly and saves a major punch (as well as its resolution) for the last few pages? "Written in Blood" by Caroline Graham is certainly one of those books. The reader just doesn't see the ending coming as it does after being presented with a grand assortment of possibilities for some 350 pages. Along the way, author Graham gives us some of the best-drawn characters imaginable. This is a murder mystery to be sure, but there is also wonderful humor and irony crammed into its pages. It is full of good-hearted souls, tragic figures, crass bullies, eccentrics and classic English police inspectors. The author leans heavily toward retribution for the bad and rebirth for the good. The formula works very well in this well-constructed novel.

"Written in Blood" tells the story of the murder of one of the members of a village writing group. The victim is someone who has been intensely private since arriving in the neighborhood and has remained an intriguing enigma to his neighbors and group acquaintences. It is the unwinding of his personal history that more or less drives the novel forward. The author is in no hurry here and takes good time along the way to resolving the murder to spinout the stories the other members of the group and their families and neighbors. This sometimes takes an almost Dickensian tone. A description of one of the minor characters was a favorite of mine: "Mr. Jocelyne, a short man with a markedly pouty chest and tiny hands and feet, came towards them. (Inspector) Barnaby was reminded of a pigeon. Everything about the solicitor was grey--his pin-striped arms and legs, the soft, sparsely distributed curls of hair upon his head and the more wiry tufts spring from his ears. Even his nails had a blue-grey tinge. He looked bone dry, as if all his essential juices had recently been drained off, and rustled as he walked."

This is a fun read that will probably lead you to other Caroline Graham books. It has done that for me, at least.

4.0 out of 5 stars Best in Blood, August 1, 2010

By 

B. Naugler (Taichung, Taiwan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Written in Blood (Felony & Mayhem Mysteries) (Inspctr Barnaby) (Paperback)

Written in Blood lives up to all the books in Caroline Graham's Inspector Barnaby series. Well worth the money. An enjoyable read from start to finish.