Entertaining enough crime read, if average: part cosy British village murder mystery, part police procedural..

A pair of young and somewhat troubled children, Josh and Dilys Browning, find the body of a woman hidden in undergrowth near their home while they are out playing. They don’t tell anyone what they found, although the discovery of the body is to have long-lasting and unforeseen consequences for both their lives. Twenty years later, Josh finds the dead woman’s bracelet hidden among his sister’s possessions and decides to ask a friend, former Detective Superintendent Alan Markby, what he should do about it. For Markby, Josh’s news stirs up memories of an old case that he had never been able to solve…

An Unfinished Murder is the sixth book in the Campbell and Carter mystery series, although you don’t need to have read the earlier books to be able to enjoy this one. In fact, this book also sees the return of another of Ann Granger’s detective duos: Mitchell and Markby. Again, you do not need to have read the earlier books in that series, but doing so might make some things a little clearer. It seems that this book might be intended to bring both series to a final close, so it nice that it is such an intriguing and enjoyable story.

The village setting of the story pretty much ensures that it will be populated by a host of eccentrics, oddballs and downright suspicious characters. As such, there are plenty of suspects to consider, and that’s before you start trying to figure out the whys and wherefores of the cold case. It’s a solidly plotted whodunit in a similar vein to Midsomer Murders and it’s a lot of fun to try and beat the detectives to the solution.

I started this and enjoyed the beginning very much. Because I have enjoyed the beginning so much I decided I would like to read the rest in the series before I read this. This was definitely a promising and intriguing read!!

I tried with this book a few times and I'm not sure it's just not very good or not my type of book or because it's a series I'm not familiar with and I've joined in too far in to it. The summary sounded very interesting but after a few attempts I have given up

A continuation of the Campbell & Carter/ Cotswold series from Ann Granger which sees Mitchell and Markby now in retirement but about to tackle a cold case. Enjoyable plot and credible characters makes for a good read. This may be classed as cosy crime but definitely has an edge to it that many in this genre don't have, as well as a dose of realism. I've not read any others in this series but I shall now definitely go through the back catalogue! Recommended.

Out of retirement comes Alan Markby to investigate the 20 year old disappearance of a young woman. But Alan's young gardener Josh saw the body, and his sister has the dead woman's bracelet

This is the first of Ann Granger's books that I have read, and I'll definitely be seeking out the rest

I read a number of the Markeby/Mitchell books and was looking forward to becoming reacquainted! Now both retired, Alan Markeby is restless and just a bit bored so when the opportunity to comes along to get involved in a case that initially had an unsatisfactory conclusion, he jumps at it. That he sits back and lets Carter get on with it is a realistic touch. It's a light easy read with a number of twists at the end which bring the plot to a satisfying conclusion.

Though it's mystery number 6,this is my first outing with Markby & Mitchell,and I enjoyed it. Not too taxing,with a simple premise,but it has enough twists & turns to keep me interested.I also liked the characterisation-with the use of a retired older,wiser detective wearily picking up a cold case..'it being "The one that got away"-there's a certain authentic world weariness about him.I found this to be a strength of the book-in general,the characters are well drawn and identifiable and you do care what happens next.There's a definite Midsomer/Agatha Raisin vibe but it's different enough to be fresh.Overall,I liked the book & I think I'll delve in Mysteries 1-5,now

This was the first book that I have read in this series. Despite not having read the previous Campbell and Carter tales, I really enjoyed these characters. In particular, I enjoyed that they were older, lead by a Retired Markby. It made a pleasant change from many of this genre having a lead character who is young.
The plot was well developed and moved at a good pace, keeping the reader engaged and interested. Having read this book I am keen to try some of this author's other work.
I received an advanced copy which I choose to leave a review for.

I have been a fan of this series from the beginning and enjoy the Cotswold world of Campbell and Carter. In this novel we are introduced (or for those who have read her previous series, reintroduced) to Markby a now retired officer who gets involved with an unsolved case from his time on the force. Ann Granger tells us in the introductory pages that she is satisfying those readers who wanted another outing for this detective, as a result he really takes centre stage and we lose much of the dynamic between Campbell and Carter and I do look forward to their return instead of being an adjunct to the Markby story. That said he is an interesting character and I will probably now go back to seek out the Mitchell and Markby series - as though my TBR pile was not big enough already!! The story here looks at the difficulties in investigating cold cases and the ongoing difficulties experienced by those tied up in it. The story is well told and the characters well formed, the plot is believable and whilst compared to the likes of M C Beaton this book has a little more substance than those stories.
#AnUnfinishedMurder:campbell&carterMystery6 #NetGalley

An enjoyable murder mystery with realistic characters, lots of misinformation and a murderer who thought they'd committed the perfect murder.

I've not read any of this series before, or the Mitchell and Markby mysteries, but the main characters are easy to empathise. As this mystery reopens a cold case of a missing person from two decades previously, the reintroduction of the Mitchel and Markby characters adds depth to the mystery. It brings past events into real-time maintaining the story's pacing while providing necessary clues to solve the mystery.

The story is simple but by the final chapters, the number of suspects grows, and the ending has some clever twists. I read this in an afternoon and its perfect Summer reading. I look forward to reading another in this mystery series.

I received a copy of this book from Headline via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this - the mystery is good, the solution clever (albeit somewhat obvious) and it’s lovely to see Mitchell and Markby again. To be honest this would probably have been a three star read without that tie-in, but it was so nice to see them back again that it made me rate the book higher! I haven’t read many of the Campbell and Carter series, this is sees a few incremental moves in their relationship, but they’re only small and (wisely imho) the return of the two Ms gets most of the off-murder action. Fun and rewarding for long time fans.

A very good story, mixing old characters with new. Cleverly portrayed. Good plot with twists and turns keeping one guessing. Will look for more stories from this author.

An interesting twist to the investigation of an old murder. Joshs character is well written and describes well the the characteristics of a man who struggles to socialise. His sister Dilys has always been the more powerful and boss in their relationship. They found a body many years ago that disappeared the next day, they told no one, there family history was you dont tell the police anything. Eventually Josh confides in a retired policeman he trusts and the investigation begins. A sit on the edge of your seat read!

This is a sequel using popular characters from an earlier series. It was a well thought out cold case reopening with a satisfactory ending

It might have been more engaging if I had known the earlier novels in the series. References were made to their previous personalities in most of other cases, and I missed that. The search into a past case our man had left unresolved years ago is tedious at its worst while we follow what's going on (his female partner keeps him on track!) ..additionally, it seems all so complex! But I can see author is adept at procedurals and despite some unsubtle tricks tried on the inspectors by 'suspects' and makes, the real murderer has definitely got away with it, and it's most satisfying when that's resolved. Adept and professoinal if slightly short on verve ...