Book Review: Mixing With Murder

Reviewed By: Catherine Thompson - RAM

Mixing With Murder     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Ann Granger
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Series: Fran Varaday # 6
Headline; $24.95 trade paperback; 281 pages

Part-time sleuth Fran Varady is out walking her dog Bonnie one fine London morning when one of club owner Mickey Allerton’s bouncers picks her up. It seems Mickey has a problem: his best dancer, Lisa Stallard, has done a runner back home to Oxford, and he wants her back, so he’s chosen Fran, who’s an actor and about the same age as Lisa, to go talk to the woman. To encourage Fran’s co-operation, Mickey holds Bonnie as surety.

Despite warnings from her friend Ganesh, Fran goes to Oxford, where she meets Lisa and her parents. Lisa is adamant that she won’t go back to Mickey’s club. Fran is about to give her up as a lost cause when she happens upon a corpse floating in the river. When she realizes that the dead man is another of Mickey’s bouncers, she begins to understand that there’s much more to Lisa and her relationship with Mickey than meets the eye.

I’ve read one of Granger’s Mitchell and Markby books, and I was curious to see how her Fran Varady ones compare. A number of readers seem to prefer the former to the latter, but I find them equally good, though necessarily different. What remains the same is Granger’s ability to create strong, rounded characters and keep a plot going. I do like the narrative voice: Fran comes across as young and urban, a contrast to Mitchell and Markby, who are both older professional people. Mixing With Murder moves along at a smart pace, no dragging anywhere. Granger has an interesting mix of characters, from Beryl, the former dancer turned B&B owner, to Harry, the bouncer who’s given charge of Bonnie.

Catherine Thompson - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Catherine Thompson - RAM