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Thea Osborne #8
A Grave in the Cotswolds
As undertaker Drew Slocombe drove to Greta Simmonds’ burial in Broad Campden, deep in the heart of the Cotswolds, thoughts of his troubles at home and at work played on his mind. The last thing he was worried about was becoming a murder suspect. Thea Osbourne becomes Drew’s unlikely friend and defender as she once again finds herself unwittingly involved in a brutal murder case when the council worker opposing the burial is found dead just minutes from her latest house-sitting the Cotswold home of the late Mrs. Simmonds. As they come to know more about the inhabitants of Broad Campden, Drew and Thea begin to unearth the secrets, conflicts and tensions that simmer below the surface of village life, together playing amateur detective to find the killer, and to clear Drew’s name.
383 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
34 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Tope
81 books218 followersRebecca Tope is best known as the author of over twenty crime novels. She has also recently produced the e-book entitled 'The Indifference of Tumbleweed'. She has every intention of continuing with the murder stories, as well as a variety of other kinds of fiction.
She has experienced many different kinds of work in her time - running antenatal classes, counselling troubled couples and being an office girl for an undertaker, for example. There were also several years monitoring the output of dairy cows, as well as every sort of task associated with book publishing. In 1992, she founded Praxis Books, a small British press.
She lives surrounded by trees she has planted herself, tending her own sheep.
She has experienced many different kinds of work in her time - running antenatal classes, counselling troubled couples and being an office girl for an undertaker, for example. There were also several years monitoring the output of dairy cows, as well as every sort of task associated with book publishing. In 1992, she founded Praxis Books, a small British press.
She lives surrounded by trees she has planted herself, tending her own sheep.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
February 3, 2017
My Fav candy, I mean author. That's it! Author! I love Rebecca Tope and her Cotswold series. This is book 8 and I think I have given every book before this one a 5 stars. I just couldn't do it this time, but it is still a good read and worth having and reading in the whole set.
One of the things Tope has done once previously, in this series, and yet again in this book, is that instead of seeing and hearing all things from Thea's prospective, we hear it from another character entirely. I am not fond of that. I came for Thea, the main character that I have grown to love and know over the years.
There aren't too many more books left in the series either, so I want to hear more from my fav character and her fluffy Spaniel.
This book is told from Drew Slocombe's prospective. Perhaps it was smart for the author to do this as I had not read her other series called, "The West Country Mysteries". Drew comes from those books, so in order to introduce us to him, she incorporates him here and the rest is history. I now know who Drew is, what he is like, what he does for a living and I look forward to starting that series as well.
Onto the review. A Grave in the Cotswolds takes place in March, in the early Spring. Our Drew Slocombe is in the Cotswolds to bury a customer he had only just met and worked out burial details a few days previous with. Drew is an undertaker, so seeing things from an undertakers view can be very interesting and enlightening to say the least.
A man from the area comes and verbally attacks Drew about the burial that has just been preformed in a field in which he believes the council has rights to. This man is an angry, ugly and pompous fellow whom Drew wishes would just go drop dead. That is exactly what happens. Since Drew verbally allowed it known that he hated the old chap, now he is suspect Numero UNO!
It is up to Drew and Thea to change the police's and the village people's minds, that he could do NO such thing. His job is burying people, not murdering then burying them.
I felt totally disconnected from Thea, but this is told from Drew's point, so it was interesting to see Thea from an outsiders prospective. Kind of liked it, kind of didn't. The story has more pages than it needed. More descriptions, more conversations than required for us, the reader, to understand.
I also would much rather have seen things from Thea's view point, instead of some strange guy popping up in book 8 blabbing the story to us.
I did like the book, but I did not enjoy it the way I have the others from the past. I came for Thea, her dog Hepzie and the house sitting in the Cotswolds. That is what draws me to these stories, so I feel I missed out on a Cotswold tale for a book that should have been in the "West Country Mysteries" series.
One of the things Tope has done once previously, in this series, and yet again in this book, is that instead of seeing and hearing all things from Thea's prospective, we hear it from another character entirely. I am not fond of that. I came for Thea, the main character that I have grown to love and know over the years.
There aren't too many more books left in the series either, so I want to hear more from my fav character and her fluffy Spaniel.
This book is told from Drew Slocombe's prospective. Perhaps it was smart for the author to do this as I had not read her other series called, "The West Country Mysteries". Drew comes from those books, so in order to introduce us to him, she incorporates him here and the rest is history. I now know who Drew is, what he is like, what he does for a living and I look forward to starting that series as well.
Onto the review. A Grave in the Cotswolds takes place in March, in the early Spring. Our Drew Slocombe is in the Cotswolds to bury a customer he had only just met and worked out burial details a few days previous with. Drew is an undertaker, so seeing things from an undertakers view can be very interesting and enlightening to say the least.
A man from the area comes and verbally attacks Drew about the burial that has just been preformed in a field in which he believes the council has rights to. This man is an angry, ugly and pompous fellow whom Drew wishes would just go drop dead. That is exactly what happens. Since Drew verbally allowed it known that he hated the old chap, now he is suspect Numero UNO!
It is up to Drew and Thea to change the police's and the village people's minds, that he could do NO such thing. His job is burying people, not murdering then burying them.
I felt totally disconnected from Thea, but this is told from Drew's point, so it was interesting to see Thea from an outsiders prospective. Kind of liked it, kind of didn't. The story has more pages than it needed. More descriptions, more conversations than required for us, the reader, to understand.
I also would much rather have seen things from Thea's view point, instead of some strange guy popping up in book 8 blabbing the story to us.
I did like the book, but I did not enjoy it the way I have the others from the past. I came for Thea, her dog Hepzie and the house sitting in the Cotswolds. That is what draws me to these stories, so I feel I missed out on a Cotswold tale for a book that should have been in the "West Country Mysteries" series.
October 29, 2014
This is the author's attempt to use the popularity of an existing series of books to introduce a character who features in another series. So we have Drew Slocombe,a male, environmentally aware undertaker narrating a story featuring Tope's usual sleuth Thea Osborne. It doesn't work. The use of the first person narrative is jarringly bad. I have read a few of Tope's books now and they seem to be getting progressively worse. The book takes over 400 pages when the story could have been told in half that and with more panache. The characters are unbelievable and clearly none of the police in the story have ever heard of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act let alone have a working knowledge of it. The only thing that shines through is the author's love of the countryside and of the particular charms of the Cotswolds.
October 3, 2024
This is my second Cotswold’s murder and enjoyed it much more than the last. Thea Osbourne is still very prevalent in the story but it is written from the perspective of Drew - the chief suspect. Very interesting subject matter about natural burials and differing opinions on the ideals. Enjoyed the complexity of Drew’s character and the issues surrounding the natural burial. Good twist at the end. Would recommend. 😊
February 20, 2023
"Thea Osborne and her loyal spaniel Hepzie are still pursuing their occupation as house-sitters, despite the disastrous incidents of the past. At the moment they are staying in the late Greta Simmonds' house, which is currently between ownership. But when a body is discovered in a nearby field, Thea finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation once again. After befriending undertaker Drew Slocombe, she soon finds she's aligned herself with the police's only suspect. Believing him to be innocent, Thea works together with Drew to clear his name, although it slowly dawns on them that in a village simmering with secrets, a means and a motive could be laid at anybody's door."
~~back cover
I must say the ending was quite a surprise . . . talk about sleepers! As usual, certainly it seems hopeless when Thea throws herself into solving this mystery, but also as usual, she's amazingly successful in doing so.
~~back cover
I must say the ending was quite a surprise . . . talk about sleepers! As usual, certainly it seems hopeless when Thea throws herself into solving this mystery, but also as usual, she's amazingly successful in doing so.
May 21, 2023
I didn't think it was possible, but Tope has created a second unlikable main character...I don't know why I continue to pick up a book in the series - perhaps it's because it simple and easy to read. Drew is just a stuffed up and pretentious as Thea. The plot was strong to begin with, then slid into a weak mystery that really never made much sense to me, with a conclusion that I felt was pulled out the hat in order to finish the book. Disappointing and glad to move on.
February 28, 2025
A departure for the 'Cotswold' series - the copy I have says on the back it is number 8 in that series and the list of Cotswold stories in the front of later books than this has it under the 'Cotswold' series, not the West Country Drew Slocombe stories - yet the whole book is told from the POV of the author's West Country series protagonist. Possibly it has been included in the Cotswold series because it is set there, or at least the burial is there which Drew, an alternative eco friendly undertaker, conducts as the story begins. In practical terms, the character spends a lot of time driving between there and his Somerset home base, and also to a house share/commune place 25 miles from his home so we don't get much sense of the Cotswolds in this book.
Drew meets Thea at the burial because she has been house sitting for the deceased. As a departure from the norm in the Cotswold series, the house owner herself has died, but from natural causes (usually, Thea encounters a murder victim before she has had time to settle in). The burial soon causes difficulties for Drew because the deceased turns out not to own the field where he interred her; she only rented it. A jobsworth council official insists that he return for a face to face meeting by the field - I found it pretty unconvincing that a policeman turns up on the doorstep to order Drew to attend this, because surely it is a civil matter. In real life, it seems highly likely that Drew would have phoned the man, as he wanted to do. But it is crucial to the story that they meet in a remote place because he is witnessed arguing with the official who is subsequently found dead soon afterwards. Drew and Thea then join forces to try to prove Drew's innocence. He is beset and accused on all sides, with the dead man's wife eventually convincing half the community that he actually murdered the woman he buried, as well as the council official, despite the coroner's verdict of natural causes.
The story was totally different than I expected, being 1st person from Drew's POV instead of the usual 3rd person but close viewpoint of Thea. To some extent it was interesting to see her from a man's POV - and predictably, given that we've been told from book 1 onwards that Thea is a magnet for men he is attracted to her - yet it leaves her as an offstage character at times, even though she is the one who comes up with how to solve the whole connundrum. We are as much in the dark as Drew. Perhaps it would've spoiled the surprise, but I didn't find it that convincing that Thea somehow persuades the police to go along with her sting to uncover the murderer among the original deceased woman's relations and neighbours.
I did quite enjoy the story but certain aspects held it back from a 4 star rating. There is a lot of driving back and forth, with the police continually wanting Drew to come back to be interviewed in the area rather than at his home, and giving him subsequent problems with where he can afford overnight stays. This to-ing and fro-ing has the effect of prolonging the story rather unnecessarily. Drew keeps the truth from his wife because of her long standing brain injury (from the context, this happened in a previous West Country novel), yet leaves her looking after two children having made various excuses as to why he has to be absent. He takes his business partner Maggs a bit more into his confidence, but even with her he keeps things back. Although this might be a realistic reflection of human nature and he is doing it to avoid worrying his wife, it still comes across as a negative trait. And for an environmentally friendly undertaker, he spends a lot of time driving around which seems a bit contradictory.
Drew meets Thea at the burial because she has been house sitting for the deceased. As a departure from the norm in the Cotswold series, the house owner herself has died, but from natural causes (usually, Thea encounters a murder victim before she has had time to settle in). The burial soon causes difficulties for Drew because the deceased turns out not to own the field where he interred her; she only rented it. A jobsworth council official insists that he return for a face to face meeting by the field - I found it pretty unconvincing that a policeman turns up on the doorstep to order Drew to attend this, because surely it is a civil matter. In real life, it seems highly likely that Drew would have phoned the man, as he wanted to do. But it is crucial to the story that they meet in a remote place because he is witnessed arguing with the official who is subsequently found dead soon afterwards. Drew and Thea then join forces to try to prove Drew's innocence. He is beset and accused on all sides, with the dead man's wife eventually convincing half the community that he actually murdered the woman he buried, as well as the council official, despite the coroner's verdict of natural causes.
The story was totally different than I expected, being 1st person from Drew's POV instead of the usual 3rd person but close viewpoint of Thea. To some extent it was interesting to see her from a man's POV - and predictably, given that we've been told from book 1 onwards that Thea is a magnet for men he is attracted to her - yet it leaves her as an offstage character at times, even though she is the one who comes up with how to solve the whole connundrum. We are as much in the dark as Drew. Perhaps it would've spoiled the surprise, but I didn't find it that convincing that Thea somehow persuades the police to go along with her sting to uncover the murderer among the original deceased woman's relations and neighbours.
I did quite enjoy the story but certain aspects held it back from a 4 star rating. There is a lot of driving back and forth, with the police continually wanting Drew to come back to be interviewed in the area rather than at his home, and giving him subsequent problems with where he can afford overnight stays. This to-ing and fro-ing has the effect of prolonging the story rather unnecessarily. Drew keeps the truth from his wife because of her long standing brain injury (from the context, this happened in a previous West Country novel), yet leaves her looking after two children having made various excuses as to why he has to be absent. He takes his business partner Maggs a bit more into his confidence, but even with her he keeps things back. Although this might be a realistic reflection of human nature and he is doing it to avoid worrying his wife, it still comes across as a negative trait. And for an environmentally friendly undertaker, he spends a lot of time driving around which seems a bit contradictory.
August 5, 2020
Sexist... A lot of the time. Racist at times. I didn't care in the slightest who the murderer was. Boring main characters... A story which could have been told in half the pages. Irrelevant characters. Blurb mentions Thea and her dog but the dog barely features.
I'm so glad I got this for free in a book swap. I now know never to part with my money to read a Rebecca Tope book. Never again will I pick this author up. What a waste of time?! I was so glad to finish 😂
I'm so glad I got this for free in a book swap. I now know never to part with my money to read a Rebecca Tope book. Never again will I pick this author up. What a waste of time?! I was so glad to finish 😂
October 21, 2017
I'm reading these out of sequence, This book introduces Drew Slocombe and his ecological burial business to the Thea series. The action does, however, take place after Thea has ended her relationship with Phil Hollis. He has to leave Somerset to carry out a funeral for an old friend. This opens a whole can of worms, leading to a suggested charge of murder. The police procedural is a bit wonky in this regard. The police would not bail in a serious case like one of murder - they would want the accused before a Court for that issue to be argued. They would bail, however, if they were not ready to charge. Thea, of course, comes up trumps and solves the mysteries. There is the suggestion of a frisson of attraction between her and Drew Slocombe, but nothing happens. No doubt we have to watch this space. This is another, like the last in the series that I read, where the 1st person narration is by a character other than Thea. I'm not sure if this is brave on the part of the author, or silly and liable to confuse faithful readers.
February 24, 2017
Initially confused. Who is this narrator...and what have you done with Thea?
Apparently it's a cross - over book between two of Tope's main characters. It's only my second Tope novel....
The most enjoyable thing about the book is the setting. Trotting around The Cotswolds either in person, or by way of a novel, is a delightful thing.
I still found Thea to be annoying. The other lead character, Drew, is a bit wishy-washy. The story line was unnecessarily long.
Ok as a holiday or plane ride read.
Apparently it's a cross - over book between two of Tope's main characters. It's only my second Tope novel....
The most enjoyable thing about the book is the setting. Trotting around The Cotswolds either in person, or by way of a novel, is a delightful thing.
I still found Thea to be annoying. The other lead character, Drew, is a bit wishy-washy. The story line was unnecessarily long.
Ok as a holiday or plane ride read.
April 24, 2020
This is a clever interception between two of the author's characters, each having their own series of books. It's the first book I've read from the point of view of Drew. Unfortunately I started the Thea Osborne series with book #12 and Drew is in that book as well. His wife has died by then, so I was waiting for it possibly to happen in this book. This is the second book I've read where I don't have to be inside Thea's head to hear her thoughts. I do find her character likable but sometimes there's just too much of the books happening in her head.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2023
I usually enjoy at least a bit books that incorporate areas with which I’m familiar. I really don’t think the setting adds or detracts or matters in the least in this book. It’s an okay book - mostly- though the plot and characters are a bit forced. Perhaps if you read earlier books in the series it would all fit but if you just come across one book and it’s this one there’s no incentive to delve deeper (unless you happen to have bought another for £1 at the same time and think it’s be a waste to not read it ) 🙂
March 4, 2021
First time I read this author. I did love the descriptive settings and the characters however there was weakness in the plot. So much more could have been done with a grave on public property. It’s a bit of a letdown in the end. As I read other reviews I see that possibly the first ones in the series were better so I might give those a try.
October 4, 2021
Bit disappointed in this one but for some reason the Drew Slocombe stories have not resonated as well as the cottswold stories, definitely prefer the stories from thea's perspective and love the animal interactions but the rest was a bit one paced
March 7, 2025
A Grave in the Cotswolds book 8
This was a pretty good mystery, it had me really confused as to how the guilty person was. I didn’t like how Thea was in charge of unmasking the guilty person was
This was a pretty good mystery, it had me really confused as to how the guilty person was. I didn’t like how Thea was in charge of unmasking the guilty person was
December 11, 2025
At this point of the Cotswold series, this is pure comfort reading for me. Known territory, the kind of book to cuddle up with in a cold evening, along a big cup of coffee and just enjoy its smooth, easy pace.
July 25, 2017
It would have been SO much better if Thea had done it
I know it's a series so wouldn't have worked but still
I know it's a series so wouldn't have worked but still
July 4, 2017
The inquisitive house-sitter and her canine companion are drawn into a murder mystery prompted by a questionable interment.
November 25, 2017
Nicely written, great atmosphere, but the ending felt rushed and incomplete.
May 11, 2018
Enjoyable addition to this series, bringing in character from another series. Interesting and very readable.
September 20, 2020
A bit of a ridiculous read but of course had to finish it although you knew the outcome!
April 13, 2021
Brill
September 9, 2022
Plus side no domestic animals were killed in this book.
October 19, 2022
I could not connect with any of the characters and the solution seemed to come out of nowhere , we just get presented with our culprit without any sort of detecting
February 19, 2023
I found this engaging enough to finish but it didn't feel like there was much action. I've found her other books more enjoyable and with better plots.
November 15, 2023
Even though I finished this book by skipping chapters. I thought it was boring and couldn’t wait to finish this book.
March 8, 2024
A bit disconcerting when it's a different narrator.
March 13, 2024
A great read from start to finish
May 4, 2025
Thea is still incredibly annoying. A good storyline told from the perspective of Drew rather than Thea in this book, which although in the first person (which I usually hate), was a welcome change.
July 11, 2025
Well I didn't work out who had 'dun it'! Kept me turning pages in order to find the culprit
August 28, 2025
Gentle tale of life in the countryside, a holiday read and a little slow at times.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews