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usbsticky 's review for:
An Occupied Grave
by AG Barnett
3.5 stars. I wanted to round it to 4 stars but I think it's closer to 3 than 4. Spoilers ahead.
A typical British village mystery. The writing is easy to read and follow. I finished this book within a few hours of reading. I think the characters were surprisingly well done. The author didn't flood the book with characters, making it easy to keep track of them.
There are just a couple of main ones: Detective Sergeant Guy Poole, new arrived in the Bexford station and his immediate boss Inspector Sam Brock. The two characters are fairly well done with well defined personalities.
Summary:
A grave has been dug for an old parishioner and while the coffin was being lowered they discover a newly dead body already in it. Investigation reveals it's the parishioner's son (Henry Gaven), who had just been released from prison for drunk driving and running down his friend, another younger villager from a few years ago. Was it a revenge killing?
I didn't give this mystery a high rating because it seemed like more effort was put into writing about the protagonists' lives rather than the mystery. I know all about Poole's mother, his relationships with his father and his new station. I know all about Brock's infertility problem, his vices and his wife. But there's scant writing about the actual investigation.
Sure, they investigate the suspects and follow up clues but there isn't much drama or effect. And the reveal was a bit underwhelming.
I have read rather a lot of mystery series where the mysteries are secondary to the characters but this one just didn't hit the spot. I'm not really sure I will continue with the rest.
A typical British village mystery. The writing is easy to read and follow. I finished this book within a few hours of reading. I think the characters were surprisingly well done. The author didn't flood the book with characters, making it easy to keep track of them.
There are just a couple of main ones: Detective Sergeant Guy Poole, new arrived in the Bexford station and his immediate boss Inspector Sam Brock. The two characters are fairly well done with well defined personalities.
Summary:
A grave has been dug for an old parishioner and while the coffin was being lowered they discover a newly dead body already in it. Investigation reveals it's the parishioner's son (Henry Gaven), who had just been released from prison for drunk driving and running down his friend, another younger villager from a few years ago. Was it a revenge killing?
I didn't give this mystery a high rating because it seemed like more effort was put into writing about the protagonists' lives rather than the mystery. I know all about Poole's mother, his relationships with his father and his new station. I know all about Brock's infertility problem, his vices and his wife. But there's scant writing about the actual investigation.
Sure, they investigate the suspects and follow up clues but there isn't much drama or effect. And the reveal was a bit underwhelming.
I have read rather a lot of mystery series where the mysteries are secondary to the characters but this one just didn't hit the spot. I'm not really sure I will continue with the rest.