BRICKS AND MORTALITY

Ann Granger once wanted to become a veterinary surgeon. I’m very glad she chose writing instead. She has written four series of crime novels since she made that decision, three contemporary and one historical. Bricks and Mortality is the third in the series starring Inspector Jess Campbell and her boss Superintendent Ian Carter. They make a good team.

Set in the Cotswolds, Bricks and Mortality centres on the fire that has destroyed the ancient Key House, which has been apparently abandoned by its owner Gervase Crown, who lives abroad. In the ruins of the house however a charred body is discovered. At first it is thought to be the body of Gervase Crown himself, but it is not. When it is found to be a case of murder, Campbell and Carter have to dig deep into the secrets of the Crown family and of the local residents upon whose lives the Crown family impinged, which raises many questions. Not the least of these is whether Gervase Crown was the intended victim and if so will the murderer strike again?

Campbell and Carter are efficient partners and their personal relationship makes a strong and believable ongoing theme in this enjoyable and sharply observed series.