The first I've read of a series of mysteries involving Inspector Barnaby, an older man, happily married, not too enamoured with the paraphenalia of modern communications and computers, but who relies more on the old fashioned hard work, intutition, and thinking. His partner, Sgt Troy is quite the opposite: married, but young, brash, full of himself, shallow, fancies himself God's gift to women, impeccably dressed, etc. Very much the "English" mystery with a wonderful cast of colourful characters in the pleasant but dull village of Fawcett Green. It is here that Simone Hollingsworth, unhappy wife of a driven, wealthy, business excutive, disappears; the plot thickens with the murder of said husband, and the disappearance, and subsequent murder of a neighbour woman, Brenda Brockley, who fantasizes a relationship with the husband, Alan, to fill out her incredibly dull, boring life. The cast of characters includes the village bobby: Constable Perrot who stumbles through the mystery at key point, the local vicar, the local personalities, the local store owner steeped in medieval lore, etc. But Graham does a good job of skirting caricature. A good mystery, though I was pleased that I figured out the principal element before we got to the end, and not the standard pat ending of the bad guys getting their just desserts. Worth reading more.