No one in Heppleburn has a bad word to say about Alice Parry . . . but here she is, murdered in her own backyard on a bitter St. David's Eve. And when detective Stephen Ramsay starts asking questions in the village, a more ambiguous picture begins to emerge. Yes, old Mrs. Parry was loved by everyone, but sometimes her kindness had caused trouble. Yes, her two nephews were devoted to her, but they didn't really want her interfering in their rather complicated personal lives. Even among her neighbors, Alice Parry's helpfulness had sometimes misfired; and after her death, tension tight as a clenched fist grips the uneasy village.
Meanwhile, the suspects keep rolling in, and Heppleburn's friendly neighborhood killer continues his nasty piece of work . . . .
Murder in My Backyard, Ann Cleeves
I started listening to the audio of this series when it was available at the library, and I felt like something quintessentially "British". These fit that bill perfectly, with central police inspector Stephen Ramsay a laconic, feeling slightly rumpled, divorced cop, new to the area, the force and living on his own in the middle of nowhere. As well as trying to solve murders, he's trying to sort his life out and figure out how to work with a subordinate who seems to resent him, or at least they haven't yet found a way of connecting.
In this example, Alice Parry, seemingly popular, committed to causes in her local village, is murdered in her own backyard on a bitterly cold St David's Eve, in the middle of the night. Only her backyard is a bit unusual, as is her house, and her family relationships with two much loved nephews who are seemingly devoted to her. Except when she's interfering in their complicated personal lives, and, it turns out, her popularity is slightly tainted. Being helpful and deeply devoted to local causes, sometimes can come across as meddling and all is not as serene as it seems on the face of it in Heppleburn.
Nicely done, with a dose of the detective's personal life thrown in to balance against the personal lives of the suspects and the victim. Easy to listen to, with a good narrator's voice, this one is the second in the Inspector Simon Ramsay series.