A Touch of Mortality Paperback – 19 September 1996

I have been getting these books from the library but for some reason this one wasn't available. Since I have to (yes, I am like that) read books in sequence, it was very important to me to get this. Amazon was the only place I could find it and the price was right. I donated it to the Library when I finished it...so others could enjoy the full series.

Meredith Mitchell's old friend, Sally Caswell is unable to keep a lunch date because of a domestic emergency and Meredith drives out to Sally's country cottage in the village of Castle Darcy to see if she can help in any way. Sally and her husband, Liam have moved to the country so that Liam can have time and peace and quiet to get on with the book he is writing but things aren't working out too well and Liam's temper is becoming more and more uncertain. To cap it all he is being targeted by animal rights activists and a suspect package has been delivered.Superintendent Alan Markby is not convinced by the apparent threats and feels there may be something else behind them. Liam it seems has many enemies - not least the next door neighbour - Hector Bodicote - whose straying goats are a bone of contention. Maybe Bodicote knows more than he is saying too.This is a well written and frightening mystery with lots of undercurrents and even the reader doesn't know who to trust as everyone seems to have some sort of secret to hide - not all to do with the investigation. I enjoyed reading this book and think it is one of the best in this excellent series that I have read so far.The author piles up detail on detail with plenty of clues and plenty of suspects and lots of undercurrents. It is interesting to see how Meredith and Alan's relationship is developing as well. I recommend this series to anyone who likes their crime novels low key and without too much on the page violence and bad language. The series needs to be read in order so that the development of the relationship between the main characters can be followed.

Spoilt somewhat by a bit of padding, and some spelling a bit off. ‘Peddling’ a bike? Surely not.Still, a decent read,and recommended to the family.

Wer Gefallen daran findet, seitenweise Nebensächlichkeiten zu lesen, die mit dem Fall nichts, aber auchgar nichts zu tun haben (z. B. der Besuch bei Denis), und wer sich ca. 150 Seiten Leerlauf zumuten will,für den ist das Buch empfehlenswert. Spannung kommt höchstens in der Form auf, dass man sich ständigfragt, wann die Handlung denn nun endlich weitergeht. Auf 100 Seiten hätte man diese dünne Storylocker unterbringen können.

#9 in Granger's Markby/Mitchell series is definitely a good readespecially if one is already immersed in the characters by having read the earlier books. This one just didn't take off for me until about midway but I wouldn't have missed it for anything because it provides more insight into both Markby and Meredith. The ending delivers as Granger always does and Ilove the explanation of the title. Probably most of us can alsouse "A Touch of Mortality" in our own personalities.