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Faithful Unto Death
| Caroline Graham
| Can you name a mystery about bell ringing? Of course--The Nine Tailors, by Dorothy L. Sayers. How about another? Well, this book about small-town British coppers Chief Inspector Barnaby and Sergeant Troy might qualify: it begins when a young female campanologist in the village of Fawcett Green fails to show up for practice. Was Simone Hollingsworth kidnapped for ransom? Was her doting new husband involved? Or does her disappearance have something to do with her snooping neighbors--especially the neighbor's obsessive daughter? As she did so well in Written in Blood, Caroline Graham captures the inwardly seething inhabitants of a supposedly placid village with the skill of an expert entomologist observing an anthill. And Barnaby and Troy are once again the perfect pair: the chief inspector's calm introspection is a fine match for the younger, brasher officer's occasional outbursts and blunders. Not the least of Graham's accomplishments is keeping the subgenre of the traditional British village mystery fresh and meaningful. --Dick Adler
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