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Mitchell and Markby #12
Beneath These Stones
Twelve-year-old Tammy Franklin has learned too much about death, too quickly. Two years ago she lost her mother to a long, lingering illness and now the body of the woman her father married in an attempt to replace his wife has been found on a railway embankment close to the Franklin farm. This time the death is murder. As Superintendent Markby, one of the first on the scene, well knows, Tammy now stands to have her father taken from her, for Hugh Franklin is suspect number one in the mind of the inspector to whom Markby has delegated the case. But, despite his need to distance himself from the murder, Markby begins to realise that the truth is destined to be far more complex than he ever envisaged ...
345 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
18 people are currently reading
226 people want to read
About the author
Ann Granger
76 books301 followersAnn 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
March 23, 2013
I usually love Ann Granger's Mitchell and Markby series. This book is the 12 in the series. I usually like the combination of English village cozy and police procedural that these books usually offer. The mysteries are always a little tricky and I like the exchanges between Meredith Mitchell and Alan Markby. Alan is a police inspector in a small country district and Meredith is his girlfriend. She is a civil servant in the foreign office. But this book was missing a lot of these things. The mystery was fairly simple, and both Alan and Meredith seem to be rather ineffectual in their parallel investigations. I didn't even get much village flavour in this book except for the laconic builder George Biddock and the local gypsy family who are camped on the victim's land. There were a lot of loose ends and loose threads in the plot too. Disappointing.
November 19, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in June 2001.
The twelfth Mitchell and Markby mystery is one of the best in the series (though I am perhaps influenced in that opinion by not having read one for some time). In many ways it fits into the standard model of the novels in the series, with Meredith Mitchell becoming involved on the fringes of one of Alan Markby's murder cases, while both of them wonder about where their relationship is heading.
Like Morse's Oxford and Wexford's Kingsmarkham, and other settings of mystery series, Bamford is an exceptionally dangerous place to live, with a high incidence of murder and violent crime. In this case, the victim is a farmer's wife from a smallholding, found on the railway embankment by a gypsy poacher checking his snares. (Danny Smith, by the way, is a character drawn without the prejudice which usually attaches to gypsies and others with unusual lifestyles in this particular genre.)
Sonia Franklin never fit in on the farm; she had come from a yuppy background in London, and life on a working farm wasn't what she expected it to be. She didn't get on with her stepdaughter, Tammy, and she was soon bored, so that she began to have affairs to pass the time. In the end, it doesn't seem terribly surprising that she had been murdered - something common to many murder mystery victims.
The big strength of this novel lies in the characterisation of the stoical twelve year old Tammy; Granger is one of the best writers of the traditional English mystery where it comes to depicting young people. (Think of the truly cringe inspiring efforts of P.D. James and Ruth Rendell as contrast.)
The twelfth Mitchell and Markby mystery is one of the best in the series (though I am perhaps influenced in that opinion by not having read one for some time). In many ways it fits into the standard model of the novels in the series, with Meredith Mitchell becoming involved on the fringes of one of Alan Markby's murder cases, while both of them wonder about where their relationship is heading.
Like Morse's Oxford and Wexford's Kingsmarkham, and other settings of mystery series, Bamford is an exceptionally dangerous place to live, with a high incidence of murder and violent crime. In this case, the victim is a farmer's wife from a smallholding, found on the railway embankment by a gypsy poacher checking his snares. (Danny Smith, by the way, is a character drawn without the prejudice which usually attaches to gypsies and others with unusual lifestyles in this particular genre.)
Sonia Franklin never fit in on the farm; she had come from a yuppy background in London, and life on a working farm wasn't what she expected it to be. She didn't get on with her stepdaughter, Tammy, and she was soon bored, so that she began to have affairs to pass the time. In the end, it doesn't seem terribly surprising that she had been murdered - something common to many murder mystery victims.
The big strength of this novel lies in the characterisation of the stoical twelve year old Tammy; Granger is one of the best writers of the traditional English mystery where it comes to depicting young people. (Think of the truly cringe inspiring efforts of P.D. James and Ruth Rendell as contrast.)
September 24, 2021
Twelve year old Tammy Franklin lost her mom to a lingering illness only two years ago. Her dad remarried quickly, but the marriage wasn’t working and there had been many arguments. When Tammy’s step-mother Sonia’s body is found murdered and left on a nearby railway embankment, Hugh Franklin is the initial suspect - is Tammy to lose her dad, too?
Police are aware of how often the spouse is the guilty party, but Superintendent Markby is a bit troubled by the assumption, his longtime friend Meredith Mitchell certainly doesn’t agree with the police view. She is soon involved herself, and the case is one that rapidly becomes quite complicated. Meredith means not to let an innocent man be wronged.
12th in the series, all are good and this one is very good! The publishers have taken to calling these “English village” mysteries and even “cozy” mysteries, which they are not. Much too urbane and complex for that sort of designation, they are just good mysteries that are set in ex-urban England. If you haven’t read any of these, you’re in for a treat.
Police are aware of how often the spouse is the guilty party, but Superintendent Markby is a bit troubled by the assumption, his longtime friend Meredith Mitchell certainly doesn’t agree with the police view. She is soon involved herself, and the case is one that rapidly becomes quite complicated. Meredith means not to let an innocent man be wronged.
12th in the series, all are good and this one is very good! The publishers have taken to calling these “English village” mysteries and even “cozy” mysteries, which they are not. Much too urbane and complex for that sort of designation, they are just good mysteries that are set in ex-urban England. If you haven’t read any of these, you’re in for a treat.
May 14, 2022
Kim, I'm taking your 1/2 ratings and going with 2.5, I felt there were unfinished storylines at the end but overall a good murder mystery.
Guess I have to go back to earlier books to get a better understanding of the relationship between Mitchell and Markby.
Guess I have to go back to earlier books to get a better understanding of the relationship between Mitchell and Markby.
October 9, 2014
I preferred some earlier Mitchell and Markby books to this one. The main characters have decided by now that they are not going to be passionate about each other - not that they ever were, the possibility would give a spark of interest though.
This is a light read like all Granger's books, no DNA, blood spatter patterns and trace analysis to worry about here, the police just question everyone over and over again. As they do. However one would expect that even in 1999 when it was published, the notion of the police getting a list of all phone calls would have occurred to the author. Or even the police asking the co-operative schoolteacher whether any kids in her class had a bag like the readily identifiable one described to them. That kind of omission just lets down the policework end of matters.
The story is that a city girl made redundant married a farmer who was widowed with a twelve-year-old daughter, and less than a year later the new wife, who never settled, is found dead. She is left on a railway embankment and discovered there by a gypsy who camped with permission on the land. Markby the police senior officer is more desk-bound than before but still gets out and spends time in pubs, while Meredith Mitchell is still going to her Foreign Office desk job in London and poking her nose in for no very good reason to other people's tragedies. Young Tammy, the daughter, has a secret and some local men were interested in the dead woman who, bored, had decided to have a fling.
Unfortunately I never really take to Granger's style as she uses exclamation marks far too often, on just about every page when most of us use them once or twice a book. Sometimes she overloads a sentence, such as '"We don't pin things on people!" retaliated Pearce stiffly.' Most of us use an exclamation mark as a period - not Granger.
Her characters speak in cliches... one countrywoman gives us six cliche sentences one after the other, just like a parrot, on page 96.
As well, Granger uses 'it' liberally: eight times on page 126 counting its and it's... ten times on page 86... six times in a single paragraph on page 86. She's very fond of the word 'thing' too. Ah well, it saves thinking.
I cannot understand why her editor doesn't have a chat with Granger, followed by a blue pencil demonstration. Nobody sending this kind of writing to an editor today would get more than a page of reading time.
I recommend starting this series with the early books, A Season for Murder and Murder Among Us being interesting for characters and settings with a lovely country atmosphere into which Meredith is still trying to settle.
This is a light read like all Granger's books, no DNA, blood spatter patterns and trace analysis to worry about here, the police just question everyone over and over again. As they do. However one would expect that even in 1999 when it was published, the notion of the police getting a list of all phone calls would have occurred to the author. Or even the police asking the co-operative schoolteacher whether any kids in her class had a bag like the readily identifiable one described to them. That kind of omission just lets down the policework end of matters.
The story is that a city girl made redundant married a farmer who was widowed with a twelve-year-old daughter, and less than a year later the new wife, who never settled, is found dead. She is left on a railway embankment and discovered there by a gypsy who camped with permission on the land. Markby the police senior officer is more desk-bound than before but still gets out and spends time in pubs, while Meredith Mitchell is still going to her Foreign Office desk job in London and poking her nose in for no very good reason to other people's tragedies. Young Tammy, the daughter, has a secret and some local men were interested in the dead woman who, bored, had decided to have a fling.
Unfortunately I never really take to Granger's style as she uses exclamation marks far too often, on just about every page when most of us use them once or twice a book. Sometimes she overloads a sentence, such as '"We don't pin things on people!" retaliated Pearce stiffly.' Most of us use an exclamation mark as a period - not Granger.
Her characters speak in cliches... one countrywoman gives us six cliche sentences one after the other, just like a parrot, on page 96.
As well, Granger uses 'it' liberally: eight times on page 126 counting its and it's... ten times on page 86... six times in a single paragraph on page 86. She's very fond of the word 'thing' too. Ah well, it saves thinking.
I cannot understand why her editor doesn't have a chat with Granger, followed by a blue pencil demonstration. Nobody sending this kind of writing to an editor today would get more than a page of reading time.
I recommend starting this series with the early books, A Season for Murder and Murder Among Us being interesting for characters and settings with a lovely country atmosphere into which Meredith is still trying to settle.
May 10, 2016
Tammy Franklin is only twelve years old but so far in her young life she has had to deal with her mother's untimely death, her father's precipitate remarriage and her stepmother's brutal murder. Her father, Hugh is naturally enough a prime suspect for his second wife's murder and one of Tammy's teachers - Jane - a friend of Meredith Mitchell - is concerned for Tammy's welfare.
The dead woman, Sonia, seems to have been a fish out of water married to a none too well off farmer. Her best friend, Bethan, has decided that she is going to avenge Sonia because she regrets introducing her to Hugh in the first place. Meredith and Superintendent Alan Markby find themselves clashing over the conduct of the investigation and Markby himself is finding it difficult to sit at his desk and oversee the investigation.
I enjoyed this well written crime novel and thought the characters were well drawn and interesting. This book is part of an excellent series of relatively low key crime novels featuring Meredith Mitchell and Alan Markby and they really need to be read in the order in which they were published so that the reader can trace the development of the relationship between the main characters. If you like your crime novels with interesting plots and characters then I can recommend this series.
The dead woman, Sonia, seems to have been a fish out of water married to a none too well off farmer. Her best friend, Bethan, has decided that she is going to avenge Sonia because she regrets introducing her to Hugh in the first place. Meredith and Superintendent Alan Markby find themselves clashing over the conduct of the investigation and Markby himself is finding it difficult to sit at his desk and oversee the investigation.
I enjoyed this well written crime novel and thought the characters were well drawn and interesting. This book is part of an excellent series of relatively low key crime novels featuring Meredith Mitchell and Alan Markby and they really need to be read in the order in which they were published so that the reader can trace the development of the relationship between the main characters. If you like your crime novels with interesting plots and characters then I can recommend this series.
September 15, 2010
I've not read any of the other books in the Mitchell and Markby series, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this book or from understanding the backstory between Mitchell and Markby. It worked as a standalone.
There were indications throughout the novel as to who had carried out the crime, although the why wasn't revealed until the end. Nonetheless, there were surprises along the way.
A good read all round.
There were indications throughout the novel as to who had carried out the crime, although the why wasn't revealed until the end. Nonetheless, there were surprises along the way.
A good read all round.
August 15, 2025
It is such a relief to delve into an Ann Granger M&M I haven't read to enjoy a compact twisted plot with minimal participants and a finale that rather comes out of the blue if one wasn't suspicious soon enough. Granger is so good at the magician's deflective act that you would almost cry 'unfair' but no, be honest, you'd forgotten about that one element or person so cleverly buried in distraction.
Some reviewer's whine about 'loose ends' or whatever. Oh for heaven's sake...you want tidy in a ribbon? Go back to your mindless coffee-clatch cosies and don't come back.
Granger expects her readers to think, ponder and then move along carefully with no coffee-ing or clatching necessary.
A good one for sure!
Some reviewer's whine about 'loose ends' or whatever. Oh for heaven's sake...you want tidy in a ribbon? Go back to your mindless coffee-clatch cosies and don't come back.
Granger expects her readers to think, ponder and then move along carefully with no coffee-ing or clatching necessary.
A good one for sure!
June 6, 2018
Olen Grangerit suht vähe lugenud, kuigi tema raamatuid on eesti keelde päris palju. Iseenesest mõnus kerge krimka, mitte väga õõvastav. Mustlane leiab raudtee äärest võsast maaomaniku noore naise surnuna. Pealkiri ütleb muidugi ette, et mõrvar on keegi pereliikmetest. Loo käigus selgub veel üht-teist tapetud naise kohta ja teoreetiliselt võiks kahtlusaluseid rohkemgi olla, aga silme ees on ikka see pealkiri. Lõpp oli siiski suhteliselt ootamatu, tegelikku mõrvarit ma päriselt ei kahtlustanud.
Sobib leebema krimka austajatele.
Sobib leebema krimka austajatele.
March 25, 2023
Another case solved.
This case is different for Meredith as she doesn't stumble across the body, but her friend Jane wants her to prove the husband's innocence when his wife is found dead on an embankment. Markby is overseeing the case, but as usual, he likes to still interview and give his thoughts on the matter. His loyal Inspector Dave Pearce thinks he's taking over.
When Markby and Meredith interview a suspect there are ramifications. Luckily no fatalities, but a change is afoot. A good book.
This case is different for Meredith as she doesn't stumble across the body, but her friend Jane wants her to prove the husband's innocence when his wife is found dead on an embankment. Markby is overseeing the case, but as usual, he likes to still interview and give his thoughts on the matter. His loyal Inspector Dave Pearce thinks he's taking over.
When Markby and Meredith interview a suspect there are ramifications. Luckily no fatalities, but a change is afoot. A good book.
February 16, 2024
Nicely entertaining, not too exciting crime novel. As I did not read the other parts of the team before I maybe did not enjoy enough the things going on between the couple, but it was nice enough, and I don´t intend to read the other parts now that I know this one. It´s me, can´t get too thrilled about crime novels anymore I guess. Still I need to again (tss) critisize the title of the german edition, it lets me think about the sea or a lake - no, nothing like this. Don´t like that translation here, sorry...
October 8, 2024
I've now read 2 of the many Mitchell and Markby stories. There is nothing wrong with them, but I didn't like them nearly as much as the Fran Varady ones. I'm afraid I found Mitchell and Markby (as characters) just a little bit boring. That said, I enjoyed reading them and I will probably read a few more at some point.
November 3, 2020
I really enjoyed this book; whilst the characters belong to a series it's perfectly readable without having read previously. I appreciated the humour and 'Jeeves/Wooster' reference, and liked how the characters developed. I'll definitely look out for more from Ann Granger.
September 6, 2022
Love the developing relationship between Meredith and Alan. Tammy is troubled and helped by her private school teacher, twists and turns keep you intrigued. You won't realise the culprit until Meredith is alone!!
May 19, 2017
Great pacing and storyline, kept me guessing.
September 22, 2018
Leider flacht die Geschichte meinem Empfinden nach zur Auflösung hin ab und das Ende wirkt irgendwie gezwungen.
July 8, 2019
Another excellent read.
Good characterisation as usual by Ann Granger. She portrays children and animals well. The solution when it came was obvious enough. Still a very good read.
Good characterisation as usual by Ann Granger. She portrays children and animals well. The solution when it came was obvious enough. Still a very good read.
August 27, 2022
The mystery did eventually start to intrigue me but it took SO long to get going that I can't rate this any higher (I almost DNF'd around 100 pages in).
May 17, 2023
Another good read in the Mitchell and Markby series
February 28, 2024
decent who done it. I did enjoy the British characters, but nothing special.
March 13, 2025
The second book by this author that I have read and the type of crime book that I enjoy. A puzzle with lots of suspects and an unexpected solution.
May 15, 2025
Would have been a 5 but for one loose end.
January 8, 2012
Beneath these stones is a phrase that usually appears when talking about a burial ground but it refers in this case to more than bodies underground. The first death in this case occurs before the mysterious death. Tammy Franklin's mother dies and her father, Hugh, remarries Sonia less than a year later. The relationship is a stormy one with Tammy resenting Sonia and Hugh and Sonia rowing. Then one night Sonia leaves and does not come home.
Meredith Mitchell is on her way into the city by train when there is a hold up and outside the window of the train she notices a bright green, frog shaped backpack hanging from a tree branch.
Tammy's teacher, Jane, has noticed that Tammy is not having an easy adjustment with her mother's death and her father's remarriage. Then she hears that Tammy's step mother has been found dead and offers her help to the family. She is also Meredith's friend and draws Meredith into the mystery of Sonia's death.
Although Alan Markby is not officially involved in the case he ends up doing some sleuthing on his own.
Add to this Simon Franklin, a historian, Hugh's brother and a group of Travellers that have a long history with the Franklin family.
Meredith and Markby as usual take different roads toward the solution of the mystery.
This is available on Audible in an approximately 9 hour and 30 minute unabridged version. The narrator is Bill Wallis, who, as usual does an excellent job with all of the characters. He's one of my favorites when combine with a British mystery. If you enjoy his work on this one you ought to check out his narration on Carnage on the Committee.
Meredith Mitchell is on her way into the city by train when there is a hold up and outside the window of the train she notices a bright green, frog shaped backpack hanging from a tree branch.
Tammy's teacher, Jane, has noticed that Tammy is not having an easy adjustment with her mother's death and her father's remarriage. Then she hears that Tammy's step mother has been found dead and offers her help to the family. She is also Meredith's friend and draws Meredith into the mystery of Sonia's death.
Although Alan Markby is not officially involved in the case he ends up doing some sleuthing on his own.
Add to this Simon Franklin, a historian, Hugh's brother and a group of Travellers that have a long history with the Franklin family.
Meredith and Markby as usual take different roads toward the solution of the mystery.
This is available on Audible in an approximately 9 hour and 30 minute unabridged version. The narrator is Bill Wallis, who, as usual does an excellent job with all of the characters. He's one of my favorites when combine with a British mystery. If you enjoy his work on this one you ought to check out his narration on Carnage on the Committee.
April 24, 2013
I was wavering between three and four stars on this one, because it is a rather quiet story. But it's well- written and the characters are interesting. I had a lot of sympathy with all the "good guys", especially little Tammy, who clearly knows more than she should about her stepmother's death. The detectives, Meredith and her policeman friend Alan, were well-drawn, too. I have a feeling I would have judged this higher (four stars) had I begun the series from the beginning. I found that to be the case with the delightful Daisy Dalrymple mysteries; you get a much better sense of the characters if you read a series. This holds up very well as a stand alone series, but I do think it would read even better if one were familiar with the characters. A good, well-crafted English cozy; I'd recommend it to fans of old-fashioned English mysteries. I'm one of those! And I'm happy to have come across this author.
Read
April 23, 2016As written on the cover of the book "you will soon be addicted". It really addicted me. When you will start reading this book, you will regret why I took this book but after completing five chapters you will get to know why it is amongst bestsellers.
The neatest thing about this book is you can't predict who is going to be the criminal like in some other crime fictions.
Ann Granger did that very neatly.
The neatest thing about this book is you can't predict who is going to be the criminal like in some other crime fictions.
Ann Granger did that very neatly.
August 26, 2009
Another one in the series of Mitchell and Markby, the new English village mystery series. A woman is found dead in a ditch and Markby has to find out who did it. The answer is surprising and how it is discovered is even more surprising. The subplot is the growing relationship between Mitchell and Markby.
August 3, 2010
A cozy British village mystery with an only semi-mysterious plot (I was pretty sure what was up halfway through and I'm not a brilliant guesser), but enjoyable for the romantic tension between the main characters and the lively believability of the supporting and incidental characters.
Read
December 7, 2010I thought I'd caught up to date on the "Mitchell & Markby" mysteries a couple of months ago but she keeps writing more! This is the 13th of these modern "English village" mysteries and they just get better. Realistic characters and believable plotlines. Icouldn't ask for more.
August 16, 2013
This is the first of this author's books I have read and I will definitely read another, it was well paced and interesting albeit a bit predictable. I found the characters well drawn and the plot cleverly established.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews