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Brock & Poole #1
An Occupied Grave
A village of secrets finds its past lies waiting...
A terrible surprise rocks a funeral when the wrong body is discovered in a freshly dug grave. Now Detective Inspector Brock and Detective Sergeant Poole must open up an old case and dig through the small village's secrets to solve a murder!
Detective Sergeant Guy Poole is hoping to put his traumatic past behind him and settle into his new station at Bexford. Now history is threatening to raise its head again, and he has a murder case to contend with. Detective Inspector Sam Brock has a new recruit to take under his wing, and he's determined this one isn't going to die. As if that wasn't enough of a headache, his wife is coming home and may be on the verge of discovering the lie he's been telling her. Newly paired duo Brock & Poole must track down the killer before more lives are lost.
AN OCCUPIED GRAVE is the first in a series of page-turning mysteries that will leave you wanting more!
A terrible surprise rocks a funeral when the wrong body is discovered in a freshly dug grave. Now Detective Inspector Brock and Detective Sergeant Poole must open up an old case and dig through the small village's secrets to solve a murder!
Detective Sergeant Guy Poole is hoping to put his traumatic past behind him and settle into his new station at Bexford. Now history is threatening to raise its head again, and he has a murder case to contend with. Detective Inspector Sam Brock has a new recruit to take under his wing, and he's determined this one isn't going to die. As if that wasn't enough of a headache, his wife is coming home and may be on the verge of discovering the lie he's been telling her. Newly paired duo Brock & Poole must track down the killer before more lives are lost.
AN OCCUPIED GRAVE is the first in a series of page-turning mysteries that will leave you wanting more!
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 27, 2018
3823 people are currently reading
1957 people want to read
About the author
A.G. Barnett
15 books111 followersA.G. Barnett is an international bestselling Amazon author of mysteries.
After playing the drums enthusiastically but erratically in a band, working to create digital resources for the visually impaired and joining a digital supply chain startup, he eventually fell into the charitable sector where he has worked in online health information for over a decade.
He is currently writing two series, The Brock & Poole mysteries and The Mary Blake mysteries.
Originally from North Devon, England, A.G. moved to Oxfordshire many years ago where he now lives with his wife, daughter, and ridiculous spaniels.
A.G.Barnett loves hearing from readers, so feel free to contact him on Twitter and Facebook or email him at Contact@agbarnett.com
After playing the drums enthusiastically but erratically in a band, working to create digital resources for the visually impaired and joining a digital supply chain startup, he eventually fell into the charitable sector where he has worked in online health information for over a decade.
He is currently writing two series, The Brock & Poole mysteries and The Mary Blake mysteries.
Originally from North Devon, England, A.G. moved to Oxfordshire many years ago where he now lives with his wife, daughter, and ridiculous spaniels.
A.G.Barnett loves hearing from readers, so feel free to contact him on Twitter and Facebook or email him at Contact@agbarnett.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 389 reviews
October 16, 2023
A Great Beginning To A Series!
Too bad I can’t tell the ending to this mystery.
Detective Sargent Poole and Detective Inspector Brock are called on to solve the mystery of a body that is occupying a grave that has been dugged for someone else.
It is Poole’s first day on the job, so naturally he wants to make a good impression. Unfortunately, he doesn’t. Instead he makes an enemy!
But with Brock on his side, he needn’t worry. This mystery gets solved.
This story has many interesting directions that it leads you into, and the twists and turns help to increase the suspense of the story.
Four stars. ✨✨✨✨
Too bad I can’t tell the ending to this mystery.
Detective Sargent Poole and Detective Inspector Brock are called on to solve the mystery of a body that is occupying a grave that has been dugged for someone else.
It is Poole’s first day on the job, so naturally he wants to make a good impression. Unfortunately, he doesn’t. Instead he makes an enemy!
But with Brock on his side, he needn’t worry. This mystery gets solved.
This story has many interesting directions that it leads you into, and the twists and turns help to increase the suspense of the story.
Four stars. ✨✨✨✨
November 2, 2018
This is a 4.5 star read.
An Occupied Grave is a wonderful introduction to a new series and a new set of detectives, Brock and Poole, for me. I simply adore British crime series and this short novel is an excellent example of a murder mystery with a cosy feel centred in a small town in England. I have already added the rest and the series to my TBR pile. A very quick read entertaining to boot!
I received an ebook of this novel from the author via Instafreebie. I have voluntarily chosen to review the book and the gifting in no way influences my review/rating, which reflects my honest opinion.
An Occupied Grave is a wonderful introduction to a new series and a new set of detectives, Brock and Poole, for me. I simply adore British crime series and this short novel is an excellent example of a murder mystery with a cosy feel centred in a small town in England. I have already added the rest and the series to my TBR pile. A very quick read entertaining to boot!
I received an ebook of this novel from the author via Instafreebie. I have voluntarily chosen to review the book and the gifting in no way influences my review/rating, which reflects my honest opinion.
April 26, 2023
Detective-Sergeant Poole has just arrived at his new position at Bexford as partner to Detective Inspector Brock, and immediately, they have a murder case to solve. A.G. Barnett’s An Occupied Grave (A Brock & Poole Mystery, #1) is a village mystery, and this village appears to have damaging secrets that affect the solution of the the first murder.Yes, there is more than one murder for Brock & Poole to figure out. This is not a warm and cozy mystery, but one that involves the past in more ways than one. Detective-Sergeant Poole has moved because of a horrific incident that happened to him at 15 years of age. This incident is recalled towards the end of the book, and the reader truly comprehends the character of Poole. The village setting adds to this book and illustrates how the past influences this particular mystery. I believe that Brock & Poole will make an extremely good team to solve mysteries.
May 26, 2018
Predictable
Too much talk, not enough action.
The book is centered around DS Poole and DI Brock. DS Poole has just transferred from Oxford, and he has daddy issues. His father is about to get out of prison, and he's nervous and concerned. DI Brock is considered by some to be cursed, because the people that work with him tend to end up dead.
Too much of this book focused on human interactions, and very little on the actual crime. And the way everything came together in the end seemed contrived.
Results: just ok. I won't say that I wouldn't read another episode, but I certainly won't go out of my way to read one, either.
Too much talk, not enough action.
The book is centered around DS Poole and DI Brock. DS Poole has just transferred from Oxford, and he has daddy issues. His father is about to get out of prison, and he's nervous and concerned. DI Brock is considered by some to be cursed, because the people that work with him tend to end up dead.
Too much of this book focused on human interactions, and very little on the actual crime. And the way everything came together in the end seemed contrived.
Results: just ok. I won't say that I wouldn't read another episode, but I certainly won't go out of my way to read one, either.
February 13, 2020
I enjoyed the beginning book of the Brock & Poole series. Have two male MCs is unusual for my reads, but I seriously like these two. There is a lot of time spent on the interaction between the characters in this book, but that worked well for me. I had parts of the mystery sketched out pretty early on, but still wanted to see where things went, so it was easy to keep going. I will most likely read more in the series to see where things go with Poole and Brock.
October 16, 2024
The title is the best part. This book suffered most from the writing. It wasn’t good. But if you’re looking for a predictable Midsommer Murders-like story and don’t care about writing style, then this book could be quite fun.
November 4, 2024
Sometimes, a book just takes a while to suck you in, but this one failed to grab me for several chapters unfortunately.
July 6, 2020
"Enjoyable"
Despite the inaccuracies and the odd typo this was an enjoyable read. As a first in series it set the scene well. We were introduced to the main characters. We understand the background issues of the cast that will develop in the next three stories. All we need now is another murder to investigate. It might be a simple formula, and there are plenty of other authors using it to chose from out there.
Whether Brock and Poole will thrive or not should depend on the quality of the story line. Let's hope the following books attract those who read for enjoyment rather than looking for something to complain about. This had a decent story line. What more do you need for a few hours escapism?
Despite the inaccuracies and the odd typo this was an enjoyable read. As a first in series it set the scene well. We were introduced to the main characters. We understand the background issues of the cast that will develop in the next three stories. All we need now is another murder to investigate. It might be a simple formula, and there are plenty of other authors using it to chose from out there.
Whether Brock and Poole will thrive or not should depend on the quality of the story line. Let's hope the following books attract those who read for enjoyment rather than looking for something to complain about. This had a decent story line. What more do you need for a few hours escapism?
August 22, 2021
An Extremely Pleasant Surprise.
Some how this book was buried in my Kindle and I found it when I truly needed something a little different to read.
The author has taken the step of making a cozy mystery more of a British detective mystery. Think Lewis and Hathaway with haunted pasts. Gone is the woman getting involved in a murder, going out on her own, sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. Putting herself in danger almost getting killed and falling for the handsome guy who shows up. And not a clueless copper in sight.
The story is straight forward. Body shows up in a new grave. After the identity of the body is discovered the story becomes very interesting. And as the bodies pile up, well things aren't what they seem.
Since everyone can read the book blurb I'm going to talk about the characters. There is DI Sam Brock, a large man, gruff and to the point detective with a not so partner friendly past and a loving wife with a career of her own. Then there is DS Guy Poole. New transfer to Bexford with a past he is hoping to forget and a mother who is very different. Naturally there are other constables who add to the story. Some interesting, some nasty and some who think they are above everyone else. But the coroner, well he's a character unto himself.
If you enjoy Midsomer Murders, Lewis and Hathaway, even Dalziel and Pascoe I think this just might be the book for you.
Some how this book was buried in my Kindle and I found it when I truly needed something a little different to read.
The author has taken the step of making a cozy mystery more of a British detective mystery. Think Lewis and Hathaway with haunted pasts. Gone is the woman getting involved in a murder, going out on her own, sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. Putting herself in danger almost getting killed and falling for the handsome guy who shows up. And not a clueless copper in sight.
The story is straight forward. Body shows up in a new grave. After the identity of the body is discovered the story becomes very interesting. And as the bodies pile up, well things aren't what they seem.
Since everyone can read the book blurb I'm going to talk about the characters. There is DI Sam Brock, a large man, gruff and to the point detective with a not so partner friendly past and a loving wife with a career of her own. Then there is DS Guy Poole. New transfer to Bexford with a past he is hoping to forget and a mother who is very different. Naturally there are other constables who add to the story. Some interesting, some nasty and some who think they are above everyone else. But the coroner, well he's a character unto himself.
If you enjoy Midsomer Murders, Lewis and Hathaway, even Dalziel and Pascoe I think this just might be the book for you.
July 28, 2019
A pretty formulaic murder mystery that I never really got into. I'm not quite sure which of the two key players, Brock or Poole, I cared less about, and it only goes to say that I won't be following them to the next adventure.
May 14, 2022
Kirjutasin raamatust blogis.
November 5, 2018
The first book in a series, which didn't disappoint as so many do. Poole has been promoted to work with Inspector Brock. They both have secrets, but these don't interfere with the mystery. So many authors tend to make the background of the detectives the real story, which I find tedious and frequently boring. Am looking forward to the next books, and their somewhat quirky characters.
July 6, 2025
Like 3.5 pretty good not amazing but still enjoyed it!
October 20, 2025
Well it started out pretty funny and entertaining, then got into a bit of a long thing with silly innuendos, then picked up a bit and...eh. I really wanted to like this one more since it started out well with all the humour and banter, but "eh".
July 21, 2025
This book took me a while to get into the characters but I’m glad I stayed on it. I loved the last third the most and now looking forward to reading the sequels
November 18, 2018
'An Occupied Grave' won't give you much to think about, but the characters are fun and the mystery is well set-up. There is a fair amount devoted to introduction of the cast, as we might expect in the first book of a series, and the author might have done a bit more 'show' than 'tell'. It's well paced-out, however - the author does not dump it all at once, but leaves us to speculate a bit.
As another reviewer noted, the grammar and spelling 'errors' are British spelling and colloquialisms. (Of course, so is Brock's understated humour.)
My only quibble is that we're never clear on exactly what Guy's father did, and there are some bits thrown in that seem to be more last-minute than good plotting. (I'm trying to be cryptic to avoid spoiling - we do get some information near the end of the book - but not enough to make sense of it.) Perhaps in the next book - I'll be keeping this series on my go-to list when I need something light.
As another reviewer noted, the grammar and spelling 'errors' are British spelling and colloquialisms. (Of course, so is Brock's understated humour.)
My only quibble is that we're never clear on exactly what Guy's father did, and there are some bits thrown in that seem to be more last-minute than good plotting. (I'm trying to be cryptic to avoid spoiling - we do get some information near the end of the book - but not enough to make sense of it.) Perhaps in the next book - I'll be keeping this series on my go-to list when I need something light.
November 27, 2018
Listening Length: 5 hours
Description: A village of secrets finds its past lies waiting…
When mourners gather in the village of Lower Gladdock, the grave is found to be already occupied. The victim is soon linked to a tragedy that tore the village apart five years ago and is handed over to the Bexford police to solve. Detective-sergeant Guy Poole is hoping to put his traumatic past behind him and settle into his new station at Bexford. Now history is threatening to raise its head again, and he has a murder case to contend with.
Detective Inspector Sam Brock has a new recruit to take under his wing, and he’s determined this one isn’t going to die. As if that wasn’t enough of a headache, his wife is coming home and may be on the verge of discovering the lie he’s been telling her. Newly paired duo Brock & Poole must track down the killer before more lives are lost.
Description: A village of secrets finds its past lies waiting…
When mourners gather in the village of Lower Gladdock, the grave is found to be already occupied. The victim is soon linked to a tragedy that tore the village apart five years ago and is handed over to the Bexford police to solve. Detective-sergeant Guy Poole is hoping to put his traumatic past behind him and settle into his new station at Bexford. Now history is threatening to raise its head again, and he has a murder case to contend with.
Detective Inspector Sam Brock has a new recruit to take under his wing, and he’s determined this one isn’t going to die. As if that wasn’t enough of a headache, his wife is coming home and may be on the verge of discovering the lie he’s been telling her. Newly paired duo Brock & Poole must track down the killer before more lives are lost.
June 3, 2018
Bad grammar, poor characterization
I've read 26% of this book and am returning it to Kindle Unlimited. The author's poor word choices and inability to maintain point of view or character-building were annoying from the beginning; now the persistent misuse of subject/verb consistency has driven me beyond my tolerance. If this were a hard copy book I would carefully take it by its right upper corner and turn it into a Frisbee. Then I would return it to the bookseller with a plea to have SOMEONE, ANYONE copy-edit the darned thing.
I've read 26% of this book and am returning it to Kindle Unlimited. The author's poor word choices and inability to maintain point of view or character-building were annoying from the beginning; now the persistent misuse of subject/verb consistency has driven me beyond my tolerance. If this were a hard copy book I would carefully take it by its right upper corner and turn it into a Frisbee. Then I would return it to the bookseller with a plea to have SOMEONE, ANYONE copy-edit the darned thing.
January 5, 2025
If you had a list of characters from this novel, without reading a page you may be able to guess 'who done it'. As soon as this character was introduced I had hoped a twist in the story would occur and my own guess would be wrong. Sadly it wasn't to be. The investigation pottered along at a slow pace with no real urgency. As a sideline to the main story, the release of the detective's dangerous father from prison turned out to be a non-event.
March 19, 2022
I had had this downloaded for over 2 years !!! Then I glanced at reviews before embarking upon it and they all mentioned spelling and grammar errors so I wasn't holding out much hope of getting very far into it. There ARE errors which cost it 1* for me but nothing like as bad as detailed. So I am guessing he has got it re-edited since there's a newer cover as well. Though I much prefer my green one so it's a pity he altered that.
It was a great story, though I wasn't sure at the beginning but it got better quickly and held my attention. I liked both Poole and Brock, they're both highly different guys but their relationship is clearly going to work, which is nice. Laura is a smashing character, too. I really liked Sanders and Davies so I'll be sticking with this series, especially as we were left with a wee cliffhanger at the end of this one. It is a complete ending but leaves things open for the ensuing books.
On only page 5 I was sighing under my breath when he used the word 'building' 4 times in the one paragraph !! Cavity searched needed a hyphen, some sentences dropped words, speechmarks were missed here and there, he wrote retina not retinas though there was only one apostrophe error (which is very good going) !
At one point they mentioned that four years was a long time to sit on getting revenge but the chap being discussed had been in prison so that was a nonsensical remark to make and then these detectives were inspecting a missing person's car but didn't open the boot, which would've been the first place I'd have checked !!
This sentence just reads wrong to me, ".....Sanders burst into laughter with a little snort, which she instantly became embarrassed of".....then right at the end he really blew his 1* for me when he referred to somebody's mum when she was his nan....sigh.....a real howler, that one !!
Anyhow, I will read more of the series and see how things go.
It was a great story, though I wasn't sure at the beginning but it got better quickly and held my attention. I liked both Poole and Brock, they're both highly different guys but their relationship is clearly going to work, which is nice. Laura is a smashing character, too. I really liked Sanders and Davies so I'll be sticking with this series, especially as we were left with a wee cliffhanger at the end of this one. It is a complete ending but leaves things open for the ensuing books.
On only page 5 I was sighing under my breath when he used the word 'building' 4 times in the one paragraph !! Cavity searched needed a hyphen, some sentences dropped words, speechmarks were missed here and there, he wrote retina not retinas though there was only one apostrophe error (which is very good going) !
At one point they mentioned that four years was a long time to sit on getting revenge but the chap being discussed had been in prison so that was a nonsensical remark to make and then these detectives were inspecting a missing person's car but didn't open the boot, which would've been the first place I'd have checked !!
This sentence just reads wrong to me, ".....Sanders burst into laughter with a little snort, which she instantly became embarrassed of".....then right at the end he really blew his 1* for me when he referred to somebody's mum when she was his nan....sigh.....a real howler, that one !!
Anyhow, I will read more of the series and see how things go.
October 16, 2020
I picked this up thinking that the cover and title looked like a great read for Halloween. Instead, it's actually a detective mystery and has more in common with an Agatha Christie. But it starts off fairly Halloween-ish: While standing graveside for a funeral in a heavy rain, one of the mourners notices an elbow sticking out of the dirt in the freshly dug grave. Not an old long-buried elbow, but a freshly-murdered body who doesn't belong.
Guy Poole has been promoted to Detective Sergeant and transferred to a new station in a small English village. Detective Inspector Brock is assigned to be his boss, but both Brock and Poole are haunted by their past. Together they'll be assigned to find the killer before more are killed.
Okay, so it didn't turn out to be a good Halloween read, but it was still a very good read. While both Brock and Poole can be a little annoying, they're actually good and rather likeable characters. Most annoying were the constant hints at their dark backgrounds, which are eventually revealed. I thought it was quite fun and will probably look for more in the series.
Guy Poole has been promoted to Detective Sergeant and transferred to a new station in a small English village. Detective Inspector Brock is assigned to be his boss, but both Brock and Poole are haunted by their past. Together they'll be assigned to find the killer before more are killed.
Okay, so it didn't turn out to be a good Halloween read, but it was still a very good read. While both Brock and Poole can be a little annoying, they're actually good and rather likeable characters. Most annoying were the constant hints at their dark backgrounds, which are eventually revealed. I thought it was quite fun and will probably look for more in the series.
December 17, 2018
I seldom do audiobooks, but I've been really sick, and reading in bed hurts my neck. It's not the [audio] book's fault that I randomly picked something to "read" while I'm sick and grumpy.
This really doesn't work as an audiobook. It might have been okay if it's just plain reading, and not an attempt to voice-act the emotions in all the dialogues. But when you're reading a mystery, you're trying to work out who is lying, who is hiding what, who is uncanny, who is odd ... and you get this male voice-actor trying to squeeze out a high pitch girly girl voice, and on top of that, acting melodramatic, hysterical, tearful, shocked -- everything sounds really fake and suspicious.
The storyline and character development is what you would expect from a TV series. This is only book 1, and I already feel like the ending is so "formulaic end of first season" setup.
This really doesn't work as an audiobook. It might have been okay if it's just plain reading, and not an attempt to voice-act the emotions in all the dialogues. But when you're reading a mystery, you're trying to work out who is lying, who is hiding what, who is uncanny, who is odd ... and you get this male voice-actor trying to squeeze out a high pitch girly girl voice, and on top of that, acting melodramatic, hysterical, tearful, shocked -- everything sounds really fake and suspicious.
The storyline and character development is what you would expect from a TV series. This is only book 1, and I already feel like the ending is so "formulaic end of first season" setup.
July 12, 2020
A brilliant who-dunnit.
I am very grateful to the person who recommended this book; it was fantastic.
A small group of villagers are gathered in a graveyard to bury one their locals, when it is discovered that there is already a body in the grave.
New to town, DS Poole is teamed up with DI Brock, who at first appears to be a bit difficult. Can the two work together?
Apart from the obvious murder to solve, I really loved the characters in this book. It is well written, and a real page turner. Very highly recommended.
I am very grateful to the person who recommended this book; it was fantastic.
A small group of villagers are gathered in a graveyard to bury one their locals, when it is discovered that there is already a body in the grave.
New to town, DS Poole is teamed up with DI Brock, who at first appears to be a bit difficult. Can the two work together?
Apart from the obvious murder to solve, I really loved the characters in this book. It is well written, and a real page turner. Very highly recommended.
July 11, 2022
One of the best detective books that I have read in recent years. Set in the sleepy little English town of Bexford, where young Detective Sergeant Poole arrives for his first posting, assigned to the massive Detective Inspector Brock of brusque manner and sloppy habits. Both Poole and Brock have had traumatic experiences in their past lives, which they try to suppress, quite often in vain, and which continue to affect their actions and reactions in the present. Poole barely steps into the Police Station, when there is a call for action-a body found in a newly dug grave. Plunged into the intricacies of solving a murder, Poole soon finds that he has a natural bent for detection, and also a friend and backer in his new boss. The town also reveals hidden treasures, cafes and bars where new friendships develop, and Poole begins to feel at home. But solving the murder turns out to be a challenge, all obvious clues leading nowhere. A motley collection of characters each with their own fads and foibles, and probable motives for murder. Not till the very end, will you know “who dun it”.
May 13, 2020
I'm so glad I stumbled onto this series.
The main characters are believable and likeable. The writing is good and flows seemlessly giving background information and insight with a touch of humour.
The answer to the mystery was not obvious.
An enjoyable read.
The main characters are believable and likeable. The writing is good and flows seemlessly giving background information and insight with a touch of humour.
The answer to the mystery was not obvious.
An enjoyable read.
March 22, 2021
Entertaining
A good page turner with a light touch. Straight into the lives of the main protagonists without hesitation. Well plotted, nice twist..
A good page turner with a light touch. Straight into the lives of the main protagonists without hesitation. Well plotted, nice twist..
July 13, 2021
My true rating is 2.5 I can never get the half stars to work. Set in Britain, very similar to the TV series Midsomer Murders. An o k whodunnit.
March 23, 2023
3.5 stars. Slow start but overall not bad
October 7, 2018
Fun! I love a good British mystery. This was kind of like watching Endeavour on Masterpiece, but set today and with its own special story. Great characters, awesome plot, interesting twists. Can't wait to see what's next for Brock and Poole.
October 18, 2018
Strange twist
This story is set in England where a Detective Sergeant Poole has been sent to a small village to work after graduating. His boss is Inspector Brock who has had luck with partners.
When a body is found in the bottom of a freshly dug grave and it turns out to be the nephew of the woman supposed to be buried there, it opens up an old case and the kids that were destroyed after an accident.
The vicar's daughter is the only one left of the four kids from the old case. The body in the grave belongs to a recently released inmate who was sent to prison for accidental running over his friend while drunk. The village had been torn apart by the kids lives changed forever.
A story with a lot of twists and turns and British village incite. Like it abunch.
This story is set in England where a Detective Sergeant Poole has been sent to a small village to work after graduating. His boss is Inspector Brock who has had luck with partners.
When a body is found in the bottom of a freshly dug grave and it turns out to be the nephew of the woman supposed to be buried there, it opens up an old case and the kids that were destroyed after an accident.
The vicar's daughter is the only one left of the four kids from the old case. The body in the grave belongs to a recently released inmate who was sent to prison for accidental running over his friend while drunk. The village had been torn apart by the kids lives changed forever.
A story with a lot of twists and turns and British village incite. Like it abunch.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 389 reviews