A Far and Deadly Cry

by Teri Holbrook

Book Overview

The crime scene showed that a cunning mind and a passionate hatred lay behind the killing of Lisa Stillwell. But New Scotland Yard would not have been called to this remote Hampshire village if the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553568590
• ISBN13: 9780553568592
• Release Date: August 1995
• Publisher: Crimeline
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Superb

Three years ago in the remote Hampshire village of Fetherbridge, New Scotland Yard and the local constabulary are involved in a siege at a place of worship. They were trying to arrest Tom Grayson on terrorism charges but things went drastically wrong. Tom and his then-pregnant wife, Gale are holed up inside a church trying to escape the police. When the police decide to storm the building Tom shoots himself and leaves Gale as a grieving widow.Time has passed since the tragic event and Gale is moving up with her life. She is still living in the same village working as a writer and taking care of her daughter, Katie Pru. Her peaceful life will be shattered when Katie Pru's baby sitter is found murdered in a village road.Chief Inspector Daniel Halford and Detective Sergeant Maura Ramsden are sent to Fetherbridge to investigate the murder of Lisa Stillwell. The main reason they were assigned to the case is because they participated in the failed arrest of Tom Grayson. They both have serious misgivings after they are convinced that Gale was innocent of her husband's crimes. They also remember the locals and the locals remember them. Hopefully, they will be able to solve the case quickly but that will not be the case. There is a lot of resentment with New Scotland Yard regarding their attack on the town and some of the townspeople hate Gale Grayson.Ms. Holbrook does an excellent job with this novel by not creating flat characters. All of the major players are well-developed and they evolve as the story goes along. No one had a reason to hate 22-year-old Lisa Stillwell but as the investigation ensues we learn that that is not the case. The story is complex and well-structured with a satisfactory conclusion to the story. The author is clearly influenced by the works of P.D. James and her books do not disappoint.Teri Holbrook's novels have been nominated for several awards, more recently an Edgar-award nomination for THE MOTHER'S TONGUE. The author knows how to structure a good story and hopefully we will see more of her Gale Grayson novels in the future. Her books deserve the highest possible recommendation.

Fabulous traditional english mystery

If you like PD James or Elizabeth George, you will love Teri Holbrook. She has created a wonderful English cast of characters in a tiny british hamlet. Her story is filled with wonderful people and various plot twists. A thrilling story!

Masterful characterization, evocative imagery

Teri Holbrook has debuted with a novel that surpasses 99% of the mysteries on the shelves, and compares very favorably with old masters like P D James. I have seldom read a book which manages to bring such a large cast of complex characters to vivid, breathing life. Ms. Holbrooks' use of evocative language alone would make this worth the read, but she combines this with an involved, well-constructed plot, a palpably real English town (and Ms. Holbrook is an American!), and a canny exploration of the differences and similarities between the Deep (American) South and rural England. It is very hard to believe that this is a first novel.

Terrific, atmospheric book!

Teri Holbrook's debut novel is so authentically English it's hard to believe she's American! Worthy of comparison to Ruth Rendell and P.D. James.

A Very Good English Mystery

A very good mystery set in a small English village. I like the way Teri Holbrook writes, a little quirky, but it moves along well. A young girl dies in what is at first thought to be a bicycle accident but is soon discovered to be murder. Scotland Yard is called in because the girl's employer, an American, is the widow of a terrorist who killed himself in the village church three years earlier. There is no scarcity of murder suspects as the girl's life is gradually exposed as well as the lives of many of the villagers. I read Ms. Holbrook's second book, The Grass Widow, before I read this one and liked it very much. This one, however, is even better.