Faithful Unto Death

Starred review from August 3, 1998
Witty characterizations coupled with some astute reflections on life in a remote English village more than make up for a dearth of solid suspects in Graham's latest addition to the Inspector Barnaby series (Written in Blood, 1995). Pampered housewife Simone Hollingsworth vanishes. Her workaholic hubby, Alan, hides out, hits the bottle hard and subsequently dies of poisoning. Timid next-door neighbor Brenda Brockley also disappears, as does local artist Sarah Lawson, beloved of Gray Patterson, a financially ruined software designer and onetime business partner of Alan Hollingsworth. Since Alan once ripped poor Gray off to buy a fancy piece of jewelry for the vapid, if decorous Simone, Gray's looking more than a wee bit guilty. Eventually, a ransom message is delivered for Simone, and Brenda is revealed to have been involved in a secret romance. Series copper Barnaby is an unobtrusive detective who plods for the most part and is aided by surly subordinate Sergeant Troy, a ladies' man and chronic snob. What distinguishes this series from run-of-the-mill English country fare is Graham's dry wit, which is especially smooth when turned on the banality of English middle-class repression: "Now, as she slid the little aluminum tray from its temptingly illustrated sleeve, she thought how very reassuring frozen comestibles were. Constrained beneath a glittery crust of sterile crystals, they did not leak or smell or ask to be in any way humanly dealt with."

August 1, 1998
Inspector Barnaby (Written in Blood, LJ 3/1/95) arrives in Fawcett Green looking for clues to the disappearance of a bell-ringer and the subsequent murder of her husband. Great stuff for British procedural fans.

July 1, 1998
Here's an intricate and shocking British mystery, the latest installment in the Chief Inspector Barnaby series. When a young married woman disappears, nearly everyone in the village of Fawcett Green has an opinion. Did she leave her husband? Was she murdered? Did she just wander off, planning to return eventually? Barnaby collects a lot of theories--but not much hard evidence--as he tries to determine if a crime has even been committed. Readers who follow the engaging chief inspector on his seemingly pointless quest for answers will be amply rewarded: the conclusion of this excellent novel is truly surprising--plausible and satisfying, yet from far enough out in left field to be entirely unexpected. What begins as a seemingly typical British small-town mystery ends as an eyebrow-raising shocker that will leave readers feeling a little dizzy. Lovers of British mysteries who haven't yet sampled Graham's work will find this an excellent place to start. ((Reviewed July 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)