A Restless Evil (A Mitchell & Markby mystery): Amazon.co.uk: Ann Granger: Books

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Product Description

It sends a shiver down Detective Superintendent Alan Markby's spine when he hears that a rambler has stumbled on human bones in Stovey Woods in the heart of the Cotswolds. Twenty-two years ago, as a fresh-faced young inspector, he had a rare failure, in the hunt for a brutal serial rapist preying on local women. After the third rape, the attacker went to ground, never to be heard of again. Now, with a new investigation prompted by the grisly remains, the trail could be warm once more. But almost at once Markby is confronted with another body and and a thoroughly up-to-date murder. Could the two be connected? It seems that some of the village residents would be just as happy to let sleeping dogs lie and secrets - both old and new - stay hidden...

About the Author

Ann Granger has worked in British embassies in various parts of the world. She now lives near Oxford.

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5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

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54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent book, 21 May 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A Restless Evil (A Mitchell & Markby mystery) (Hardcover)

The standard of her Mitchell and Markby books remains so consistently high that it surprises me. Each book has been interesting, enjoyable, well-written, with a good plot, and very different to preceeding books. This time around, human bones are found in Lower Stovey woods, and Alan Markby, charged with investigating the remains, considers the possibility that they may well have something to do with a serial rape case in the same area 22 years ago. A case which he investigated, and which he failed to solve. But then, he is brought smack bang into the present when an apparently motiveless killing of a local woman occurs in the village. And the detecting begins in earnest.

A really strong aspect of this series is the way that the relationship between Meredith and Alan has developed throughout it. It takes new turns with each book. It is what often makes the series stand out against second-rate claimants to the Queen of the Village crime novel (as Ann Granger surely is) Watching how it develops is really enjoyable, and it amazes me that AG is still able to keep it interesting after 14 books.

The plot is good, although the only flaw this book has it perhaps that there are not really enough viable suspects to allow us to guess, or the end to come as a shock. However, this is still a cracking book (i can only liken reading an Ann Granger book to reading an episode of Midsomer Murders) very exciting and interesting. It throws up questions, even in its blinkered spectrum of society, questions about people, the world we live in, religion (and its future) and so many other issues.

There is a strong cast of backing characters (one of her strongest yet) who are interesting and carry the plot along well. The writing is first-class, and Ann Granger's world tangs with reality.

This is a near-perfect example of everything a good classic english detective novel should be. If this is your thing, definitely comes highly reccomended.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly enjoyable read - first class mystery, 16 Mar 2011

By

Gwen Madoc "Gwen" (Swansea, South Wales, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Restless Evil (A Mitchell & Markby Mystery) (Kindle Edition)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it in two days. A very good, well-plotted and well-written mystery that keeps one guessing to the end. The characters are so well drawn and stayed with me for days afterwood, particular the eccentric ones.

Granger has the same gift as Christie for hiding vital clues in plain sight. As the story moved towards the denouement and past clues here highlighted I was muttering 'Doh! I should have spotted that!' But it was just Granger's cleverness as a mystery writer that I did not. Excellent stuff. 5 stars - well deserved.

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Amazon.com: 4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars About Meredith and Alan, 6 Dec 2002

By cloudyskye - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: A Restless Evil (Hardcover)

I used to love this series, but lately I find Meredith Mitchell, our commitment-phobic heroine, a little annoying. She calls herself independent, of course, and I'm all for the hard-to-get routine, but in her case it's getting a bit tedious. Alan Markby should really find someone else, or he'll turn into a complete wimp in the relationship area, always defensive and wondering. For quite some time now, I've wished for some serious competition for her, but in that I've been disappointed. OK, so now at long last she has agreed to marry him - in fact, she suggested it herself at the end of the last book - but somehow the fireworks are missing.
I realise this is not a romance story in the first place, but the Mitchell-Markby relationship does play an important part on the whole.
Also, in the first book - "Say it with poison" - which appeared in 1991 (I think), Meredith's age is given as 35, and now, in book 12, she is still only about 37 in the year 2000. Poetic licence? I checked all the books, and taking into account the seasons and other bits of information, she must be at least 39.
By the way: On page 10 of the paperback edition, it says: "... he heard a rumble of thunder. As he'd done when a child, Guy began to count in his head. One - two - three - four - The lightning burst across the sky ...". Perhaps it's different in Britain, but here on the Continent it's light before sound. :-)
On page 125 (still the paperback edition), an overbite is described as the lower jaw protruding further than the upper one - the exact opposite to what I thought from my experience and found in the Oxford dictionary. The author thanks some dentist for his help at the beginning of the book, which makes me wonder.
There are also quite a few spelling mistakes in this edition, which together with the inconsistencies mentioned above seem to indicate some rather negligent editing. Too bad!
Having said all this, I can still recommend this series to anyone who is interested in rural England and characters one can easily relate to. I'll certainly give the next volume a chance.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Average Markby and Mitchell tale, 17 Aug 2004

By S. Saunders - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: A Restless Evil (Hardcover)

The good news is that Ann Granger has written a lot of very good crime novels; the bad news is that this is not among the best of them. Meredith and Markby are futilely house-hunting when they enter the creepy village near the even creepier woods where Alan's first big career case went unsolved two decades past.

There is nothing cozy about the English village of Lower Stovey, and it is beyond the limits of credulity to think that the author intended to write a "delightful" book set there. The natives are generally dim, sleazy, secretive, oversexed or demented, or some combination of all three; and except for them the place is pretty much deserted all week because most of the nicer houses have been purchased by weekending yuppies.

First, old bones turn up in the woods. Then a fresh body turns up in the church and a middle-aged woman who came to live in the village reluctantly, is left stewing about the dark secrets in her past.

At least this time the exhaustively "independent" Meredith doesn't get into the obligatory "female in jeopardy" scene quite as crudely as in some of the novels. And I believe I know where this loving couple are finally going to find a house.

It's hard to maintain a quality series over time, especially one with an amateur sleuth. This is a 3-star effort - not a wasted read, but not the best of the series. Though certainly not the worst.

(And at least Meredith isn't red-haired and feisty as well as obsessively independent and pigheaded. I'm so sick of red-haired feisty amateur sleuths that I won't read past that description in a novel before putting it back on the shelf.)

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful village cozy, 21 Dec 2002

By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: A Restless Evil (Hardcover)

Dr. Guy Morgan calls the Bamford police station to report he found human bones in the Cotswold Lower Stovey Woods. When Detective Superintendent Alan Markby on a house-hunting trip with his beloved Meredith Mitchell learns of the human remains, he thinks back to a haunting failure. As a rookie over two decades ago, he never caught The Potato Man, a serial rapist, who vanished, after his third rape.

Alan hopes that even after all this time has passed, a break has finally occurred. However, a new concern surfaces when another dead body is found, but this one is a recent corpse. As he digs deeper accompanied by his lover, the locals refuse to cooperate making their investigation that much harder and leaving the dedicated cop feeling déjà vu as he wonders if he will fail again.

The latest Mitchell and Markby novel is a delightful village mystery. The story line contains a strong who-done-it and an insightful look at a decaying hamlet especially the surly townsfolk and their detest of the new money brought in by outsiders. The two wonderful heroes augment the enjoyable plot, especially Alan's memories of that case that still disturbs him. Ann Granger provides her usual, a wonderful village cozy that is a treat for sub-genre fans.

Harriet Klausner

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