A Fine Place for Death

Mitchell and Markby #6

by Ann Granger

The body of a teenage girl is found in the heart of the leafy Cotswolds. As Chief Inspector Markby notes, for the Bamford community in which the murder has taken place, things will never be quite the same again. It is not long before the girl is fifteen-year-old Lynne Wills who habitually drank underage in The Silver Bells pub and, on the night of her death, was seen leaving with an unknown man.
Despite his years on the local force, Markby is aware that, in common with the rest of his generation, his grasp on the lives led by Bamford's teenagers is frustratingly tenuous. For even the most respectable youth, subterfuge is second nature, their liaisons conducted expertly behind the backs of unsuspecting parents. Liaisons that can, as in the case of Lynne Wills, result in tragedy. Markby's friend, Meredith Mitchell, has been befriended by one troubled young girl, Katie Conway, heir to the dilapidated Devaux estate. On the surface Lynne and Katie have nothing in common except their age and home town. But could the insights Katie gives Meredith into her difficult family background - an aristocratic mother whose hereditary eccentricity borders on extreme instability, a doting father at the end of his tether, and a scheming resident secretary - throw some light on the background of the murdered fifteen-year-old? And, given that forensic evidence now points to Lynne Wills's murder having taken place in the Devaux family mausoleum, could these insights also shed light on her murderer?

Genres: Mystery, Crime, British Literature, Audiobook, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Detective

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Ann Granger attended the Northern Grammar School for Girls, and had thoughts about becoming a veterinarian, but discovered women were not accepted into vet schools because they were not believed to be strong enough. Instead she earned a Modern Languages degree at the University of London, where she first developed a desire to become a writer. worked in British embassies in various parts of the world. She met her husband, who was also working for the British Embassy, in Prague and together they received postings to places as far apart as Munich and Lusaka. They had two children.

Her first novels were historical romances published under the nom de plume Ann Hulme.

In 1991, Granger made the decision to switch to crime novels, saying, "Basically, there is only one plot in love stories: You can describe it in different ways, but you always come back to the subject of man and woman. Crime fiction opens up a world of possibilities for the writer. It lets you tackle deep and difficult issues." Her first crime novel, Say it with Poison, centred on the protagonists Meredith Mitchell, a consular clerk, and police officer Alan Markby. The book proved popular and Granger wrote 14 more Mitchell & Markby novels between 1991 and 2004.

Granger also wrote other crime novel series & in 2021, in recognition of thirty years of crime novels, Granger released a collection of eighteen short stories, Mystery in the Making.

On 24 September 2025, her publisher Headline announced that Granger had died at the age of 86

This autobiography was added to with information from Wikipedia & Encyclopedia.com.

Reviews

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one.

[Sara Aye Moung · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this series . Gentle but with a nice touch of dark. Interesting characters too

[Aet Altement · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raamatu sündmustik leiab aset maakohas, kus eriti midagi ei toimu. Ühel päeval tapetakse teismeline tüdruk, varsti järgneb sellele ka teine. Sureb naine, kelle surma ei saa päriselt mõrvaks lugeda aga võiks. Lõpuks sureb ka mees oma perekonna kalmul.
Gardnerlik tegelaste tutvustus võiks olla umbes selline:
Peainspektor Markby - veidi hall kuju, kes lahendab kõik juhtumid.
Helen Turner- Markby kaastööline, sama hall tegelane.
Meredith- peainspektori tüdruksõber, kes tahab oma uut elamist remontida aga satub igasugustesse sekeldustesse
Baari omanikud Reevesid - neil on kummut, mis sisaldab saladust
Lizzy - tüdruk, kes sureb liiga noorelt. Kurjemad külaelanikud näitaks ilmselt näpuga ja ütleks, et ta oligi selle ära teeninud.
Katie - tüdruk, kes ei tahtnud minna Prantsusmaale aga sureb siiski.
Barney Crouch- vanamees, kelle ajud on alkoholiga marineeritud, toimetab oma juurdlust
Adeline Devaux - klanni viimane järeltulija, igapidi haige ja õnnetu naine.
Matthew Conway - Ärimees, kes tahab eluga edasi minna kuid leiab oma otsa.
Marla - siresäärne ülbe sekretär, kes loo lõpuks saab endale ka suurema rolli
Pidevalt ei viitsiks selliseid raamatuid lugeda aga vahelduse mõttes kiireks lugemiseks sobib hästi.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely cozy village mystery.

Though there are, of course, deaths. Meredith Mitchell and Chief Inspector Markby team up and uncover secrets and meet unusual characters along the way.

A woman walking her dog finds the body of a young girl discarded like trash and Markby and his new sergeant set the investigation in motion.

After the dust settles, pretty much everything is figured out, but I believe Meredith should be on the police payroll since she manages to uncover more through happenstance than the detectives through organization.

A satisfying story.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meredith has been befriended by a young girl - Katie Conway - who attended Meredith's talk to her youth club about her travels abroad. Meredith doesn't feel she's really cut out to be agony aunt to a teenager but she feels sorry for the girl as she doesn't seem to get much sympathy and understanding from her family. Then another young girl disappears and is found dead and Bamford starts to feel threatened. DCI Alan Markby - Meredith Mitchell's friend - is investigating the murder.

When it seems the death could have some connection with the mausoleum in the grounds of Katie's home and containing the remains of Katie's mother's Devaux ancestors, things seem to be bordering in the macabre. This is a tense and frightening mystery story in which events gradually twist into a spiral of danger death. I found myself turning the pages faster and faster as I got towards the end as I had to find out whether my favourite characters were going to come out of it unscathed.

There are lighter and more humorous moments to leaven the suspense in this well written mystery novel - especially those scenes which involve Barney - the apparent alcoholic who sees more than people give him credit for. I really enjoyed this well written mystery and I recommend this book and this series to anyone who enjoys well written crime novels with interesting characters and plots.

[Julie]

another good one. a bit darker than the others. but this author is very consistent. i like the way she delves into her characters with a bit of psychology, and yet does it very unobtrusively.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this 4 stars, but for the unsolved murder at the end. Solved murders are why I read fiction. There are enough unsolved in real life.

[Les Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable read. First rate.

[Kat Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good addition to the series.

[Martina Kovaříková · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually had to take a break from Merediths and Alans stories, because I admit I was slightly getting annoyed especially by Meredith. However I picked up this book and I really enjoyed it a lot. This could be because there was not as much of Meredith, and not as much of their relationship issues being described.
The book had few good twists, and even I could not guess who the murderer was - although in one case, I expect noone could. Also there is one surprising twist at the end. Thinking about it - if this was not included, I might have opted for five stars. But it did spoil the end a bit.

[Rhona Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book.

At first, I thought oh another slow book," but it gathered momentum, and I was really enjoying it, and I had to finish it.
When a young girl is found dead, everyone starts pointing fingers at her friend, or why such a young girl was in a pub.
Meredith has befriended a young girl who has problems at home. Then another murder happens, the new Superintendent is after a connection but the two girls were from different societies, schools etc.
Meredith is also still after a Welsh dresser.
This book is like there may be one who got away as another death occurs and then another. Quite dangerous this Bamford place, like the Midsomer County.

[Cirrus Minor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mitchell kann einem schon Leid tun: Sie versucht alles, um den Ermittlungen aus dem Weg zu gehen und kommt doch immer wieder aus Versehen den Mördern in die Quere. Eigentlich dachte ich ja, Markby sei hier der Polizist, aber das ist wohl unwichtig... Einen Stern gibt es für das herzerwärmende Ende, ansonsten hadere ich wirklich ernsthaft mit den Krimis und mit den englischen im Besonderen.

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent entry in the series, if a bit darker. The Conway family is somewhat disfunctional, mom is quite mentally fragile and delusional, dad mostly concerned with himself, and Katie left in the lurch. Then Katie’s friend Lynne is found murdered, and Katie herself seems in peril...

[Punit Sahani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a suspense till it starts falling into place. Bad company and little for fun sake can surely get you in trouble.

[Elijah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent read.

I liked this book from start to finish. The characters are well drawn. You really care for them. I’ll be reading the rest of the series.

[Janey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable and entertaining book. I liked the characters and the story was engaging.

[Wendy A Munro · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best of the series.

A jolly good read, with the twists and turns.It would have been nice to be sure who did the final shooting, but I will have to keep guessing!!!

[Carolyn Rector · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the narrator, Judith Boyd.

[Ute C Hodgson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put this one down, onto the next in the series...

[J Grimsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple Cosy I enjoyed it but was not excited by it

[Christi Poulsom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant enough! Felt like a 1950's cosy drama!! What was the obsession with getting married? Endless exclamation marks got really annoying!!!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the mystery and found it thought-provoking. However, their relationship is still annoying, not sure how much longer I will give it.

[Julia Buckley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still loving this series, but this one had kind of a weird plot.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable suspense

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

[Lee at ReadWriteWish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue to enjoy these books. I also continue to ignore the exclamation marks and its apparent 90s time setting. In fact, the time setting in this installment was even more disturbing - to think that there could be women being treated like they were in this book in the 90s. Surely not.

4 1/2 out of 5.

[Gary Van Cott · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book Meridith Mitchell has moved back to Bamford and as usual gets involved in DCI Markby's cases. I have decided that the reason I don't like this series more, is that the main characters are too one-dimensional. Neither of them seems to have any significant problems except with their relationship with each other. Markby would like to marry Mitchell while she, after resisting any significant relationship at all in the first few book (without any reason given to the reader) is now against living together or getting married. She has trotted out the familiar explanation about the difficulty of living with a police office but if this is a smokescreen for a more personal reason we have yet to find out what it is.

[Lisa C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping that this would be another of Granger's historical novels. My disappointment never really came to fruition though, as I was drawn in by her interesting characters and solid pacing. I'm very glad that I branched out, as I enjoyed this work as much as her historical mysteries, and now I have a new author to devour.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is #6 in the series and I enjoy the characters in the book and the stories don't have language and have interesting twists to the plot that keep me guessing. 2 young girls are murdered in the small Cotswold village, are they related with the same killer or two different killers and different reasons??? And my question is will Meredirth and Chief Inspector Markby ever get married???

[Gloria Mccracken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about the third in a good solid British series. It combines aspects of the good old village cozy, a police procedural, and a light dose of relationship. I have about a zillion of the series, which I have found here and there,since many of them are out of print. And I'm looking forward to reading all of them.