Mud, Muck and Dead Things

Campbell and Carter, Book 1

By: Ann Granger

Narrated by: Judith Boyd

The first thrilling installment of the Campbell and Carter mysteries.

When the body of a young woman is discovered in the cowshed of Cricket Farm, the tranquility of the British countryside is shattered. Inspector Jess Campbell is on the case, but with few leads, a grumbling partner, and the new superintendent Ian Carter piling on the pressure, she's beginning to wonder why she chose to be a detective in the first place.

The shifty land-owner Eli Smith seems to have something to hide, and as Campbell delves into the gruesome past of the dilapidated farm, the mystery deepens. A flashy Mercedes spotted fleeing the scene of the crime leads to a suspect, but when another body turns up, it looks as though Campbell's lead is nothing but a dead end....

©2009 Ann Granger (P)2019 Tantor

Loved it!

It was a good old fashioned “who done it.” I couldn't figure it out until the end. I highly recommend it to everyone!

Great

Enjoyed every aspect of this book. The plot, characters, and narration all are wonderful. I look forward to listening to the entire series and other Ann Granger books. Always loved is a reading by Judith Boyd !!

Believable characters and situations

I agree about the “wordiness” that other review reviewers have noted. There are, with some frequency, detailed descriptions that do not seem to relate to, or drive, the plot forward. Nonetheless, the main protagonists and their reactions to circumstances seem believable to me.

Whodunnit!

Lots of red herrings, great narration and surprise ending! Clean language no suggestiveness, lots of suspense and did I mention great narration!

A nice surprise

This book came up in the plus catalog and I gave it a try, not really expecting much based on the title. It was surpringly good and I bought the next book in the series.

Almost

Kept my interest. And at the end I was impressed that the story continued beyond solving the crimes to discussing whether the police had enough evidence for conviction. (I love solid conclusions.) But then suddenly, as if the completion deadline was the following day, everything came to an abrupt halt, a short quirky chapter was written and the manuscript submitted. Cute perhaps but I had come to expect more.

Eh

Solution came out of nowhere. Very little connection with Jess the inspector. Narration saved it.

The characters just never came alive to me. It's a shame because I know it's a series and I'm looking for a new one to listen to.

Love. Ann. Granger. Books

Could listen. To Judith. Boyd all day this story was not her best. But I still enjoyed it Judith had a lot to do with that she could make anything good to listen to I think

Well done

I really liked the reader for this mystery. She did a good job. The mystery was good, but I felt such emotional distance from the characters that I didn't really have anyone to cheer for except maybe Old Eli. Worth reading more in the series, though.

4

My favorite kind of mystery - rural, British, intelligent, good story line,
a fine narrator, some lovely characters, some bad guys, some very odd guys and people getting coshed on the head rather than stabbed or shot....most of the coshed come around saying, " No, I'm fine." refusing a trip to the ER. I wish now I'd counted them... The author may have set a record :-) I liked this book, now I must go check what else Audible has by her.