Cozies tend to have a limited cast and a modest local. In that sense, this first novel in the DCI Barnaby series certainly qualifies. Badger's Drift is a collection of buildings (village would be generous) at a T intersection. Virtually every resident is a suspect and they're a nicely mixed lot. Cozy heroes (and heroines) tend to have warm and fuzzy aspects - Barnaby has a wife he adores despite her utter inability to cook and loves to putz around in his garden.

What cozies don't contain, as a rule, are multiple murders, reformed and current prostitutes and illicit relationships that are, shall I say, more than adultry.

I really enjoyed the mixed tone of the book, even after I realized I'd seen the screen version on TV a few years ago. Graham does a nice job of taking many classical mystery elements and giving them a new spin. I'll admit that, knowing the ending, I was looking extra hard for the clues that would lead to the resolution. There weren't many but there were a few.

It's also worth noting that this book won a McCavity for best first novel and was selected by the Independent Mystery Booksellers as one of their top 100 mysteries of the 20th Century.

Bottom-line: A nice series for those who like British mysteries but want a little less rough stuff than Daziel & Pascoe or Frost.

I am a great fan of British "cosies". I was excited to think I had found a new author since I've read Madames Christie and Sayers. Caroline Graham's plot are a lot different - more modern with modern problems and criminals. There is also more death, but she writes a terrific story. Read this series. This is the first in the series of DCI Barnaby. He's enough of a curmudgeon to make this interesting, but there are certainly a lot more killings in this book than in most "cosies". The plot is good and it keeps you guessing. I look forward to reading more. Barnaby gets started with one murder of an elderly teacher, but before the story is done there are other murders to contend with and the motive for the crimes, when it's discovered, will blow you away!

My fault, I should have researched this book more before picking up, I thought it was an Inspector Barnaby Book. I was very disappointed, enough so that I didn't finish. The plot was not interesting and the characters was strictly one dimensional. Not very enjoyable reading at all. Don't be put off Caroline Graham by this book though. The rest of her works are outstanding.

Take one well-cared for English Stately Home. Add one nephew, Simon, and one niece, his sister Laurie, who agree to manor-sit while their Aunt, who is the owner, goes off to Bath for an indeterminate stay. Laurie has her petite feet firmly on the ground, literally, as one of her favorite activities is tending to the gardens. She also likes cooking and excels at the gourmet variety. Simon is a dreamer. How can he use this unanticipated opportunity to fatten his somewhat empty coffers? Simple, my dear Watson. Simon conjures up a 'thirties mystery weekend' - Murder at Madingley Grange. Laurie has her doubts, but as Simon has already placed the advert in THE TIMES, she grudgingly goes along with him. Doesn't she always? But, if her erstwhile fiancé should be there to help out some, that would work. Wouldn't it? Blend in the usual assortment of eccentrics: the widowed mother with beautiful daughter hoping to land a country home of her own; the mature married couple and his mother, a gypsy, who might do a bit of 'seeing' if asked nicely. The husband of this pair is a frustrated vaudevillian, specializing in juvenile-type jokes and pranks. Another couple, of which the husband is detective buff, wishful of becoming the next Sherlock Holmes, while his wife may not be everything she seems to be. Two independent young men: one hoping to capture the above-mentioned daughter, and the other a devotee of the thirties, complete to clothing, etc., and mostly unaware of other surroundings. Add two of the most unusual domestic servants you'll ever encounter anywhere, and the scene is set for one long laugh. It's almost a comedy of errors, combined with manners. No violence to speak of either, but much wild and wacky fun.

This is one of the funniest books I've ever read...But if you're expecting Inspector Barnaby, you've another think coming. This is more like a screwball comedy than a murder mystery. If you like Ngaio Marsh or Agatha Christie you will probably enjoy this comedy of murders.

Caroline Graham is often referred to as a modern-day Agatha Christie. Certainly her characters, humour and carefully crafted mystery story lines are reminiscent of the great Christie. But her books are also quite different. We don't see the detail in Christie's books that we see in Graham's. This particular book is funny and complex. It is also one of the best descriptions of a psycopathic personality that I have ever read. And it's done with so much class! Barnaby seems to have finally met his match with this villain, and you will have to read it to find out how.

Not only does Caroline Graham weave a great yarn, her characterizations are hilarious. This is a very entertaining who-done-it. If you appreciate English humor, this is the mystery for you!

Despite the cover artwork (inspired no doubt by the success of the Rosamunde Pilcher Bookshelf series) this is an excellent mystery on many levels--but cozy this little village kidnapping?suicide?murder most foul? is not. First, Caroline Graham is an intelligent and graceful writer (P.D. James readers take note). Second, she's plotted an unexpected, but not unfair solution (no deux ex machina, thank you). And third, she's made the off-duty Inspector Barnaby an ambitious and imaginative cook (though it must have been the fault of spell check--where are copy editors when you need them--that he tossed "garlicky croissants," not croutons, in a salad) as well as an intuitive detective who somehow is able to overlook his aide's rampantly lascivious and asocial nature. Fourth, it's perceptive and funny. Even the minor characters, who could so easily be stereotypical stick figures, are sharply individuated, from the village bobby to the aged coquette. Thanks, Amazon for flagging this one as of interest. "Faithful Unto Death" was so satisfying in every way that I plan to reread instead of donating to the library.

This book disappointingly fails to live up to its fame. A turgid, stream-of-consciousness narrative of social criticism, it seems only indirectly interested in its own subject matter. Wading through this dull and totally unerotic tome is in itself an exercise in masochism.

There are very few books out there that talk about spanking and S&M in much detail. Thus, for those interested in this type of kinkyness this book is great! It's not scientific or dull, it's funny, interesting, and chatty. The collection of excerpts from other books at the back is unmatched in its erotic appeal - it will melt you

Taken from some of the larger Usborne books, this tiny volume is crammed with famous tales of hauntings around the globe. All the basics are here, including how to find ghosts. The coverage on Borley Rectory does have a glaring error, however. Young says although it burned down in 1939, you can still visit the ruins, which have in reality been cleared away since 1944.