Dead in the Water (Campbell and Carter) by Ann Granger

Dead in the Water (Campbell and Carter) by Ann Granger
Buy Dead in the Water (Campbell and Carter) by Ann Granger at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Crime
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: The body of a young girl is discovered in the river. A satisfying plot with plenty of red herrings and a solution I wasn't expecting. Recommended.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 336 (9h 35m)	Date: July 2015
Publisher: Headline
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1472204554
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It was the wettest winter on record and coming up to Christmas it wasn't the floods that the residents of Weston Saint Ambrose were worried about - or even the forthcoming festivities. On his way to a call the local vet had spotted something in the river and closer inspection showed that it was a body of what he thought was a young woman. When he managed to get back to the scene and meet the police the body had disappeared, but it drifted under the landing stage of a large house down river and was spotted by a man delivering logs. The owner of the house, a reclusive writer, was shocked to realise that he recognised the girl. Inspector Jess Campbell and Superintendent Ian Campbell had to investigate the brutal killing.

It's a good story. Why would anyone want to kill Courtney Higson? She was young, attractive, friendly and a waitress in the local gastro-pub, but her greatest protection was probably her father, currently residing at Her Majesty's pleasure and due for release shortly. The sight of him was frightening but the knowledge of what he could do meant that people were careful around Courtney. It might have been pure coincidence that her body would be brought out of the river onto the lawn of a writer, but it was hard to avoid the fact that Carter and Campbell's enquiries kept coming back to the members of a local writers' group, some of whom seemed to know Courtney from their visits to The Fisherman's Arms.

Much of the investigation falls to Jess Campbell as Ian Campbell has family problems. His ex-wife seems to be planning something which involves their daughter and he needs to get to the bottom of it, but there's a good relationship between the two coppers. Neither of them are alcoholics, womanisers or spendthrifts, unlike most fictional detectives and they're all the better for it. It's almost possible to believe that you might meet them, but preferably not in the line of duty. I was impressed by the way that all the characters came to life and I really hadn't worked out who had killed Courtney.

I listened to an audio download and I'll confess that I didn't immediately warm to the voice of the narrator, Judith Boyd, but this was perhaps because I found the local accents a little strange and once I relaxed into the story it began to seem more natural and I had no trouble distinguishing the different voices. I think you can put that one down to me rather than Judith Boyd! It was a very enjoyable 9½ hours and I was sad when the book ended.

The book wasn't sent to me by a publisher - I bought it myself!

If you're looking for another download of a police procedural we can recommend The Dying Season: A Bruno Courreges Investigation by Martin Walker.

You could get a free audio download of Dead in the Water (Campbell and Carter) by Ann Granger with a 30-day Audible free trial at Amazon.co.uk.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Dead in the Water (Campbell and Carter) by Ann Granger at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Dead in the Water (Campbell and Carter) by Ann Granger at Amazon.com.

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