When I say that the author has written scripts for Midsomer Murders TV series, and that there is a quote from the review of this show’s main character on the cover you will perhaps know what to think. Yes, this is a rural whodunit and proud to be so, and why not? There is a lot to enjoy in here, starting with Hawk’s narrative. Although I would hesitate to call anything of this kind "realism," the characters in here ring true - albeit a tad satirical in some instances. This is especially true of Hawk himself, with his lack of funds, widower’s life and Anger Management Disorder, which he deals with in a delightful way. I also applaud the teasing plot which kept me guessing to the end, and the fact that Mr Barr has resisted the temptation to make Hawk’s Japanese houseguest Watson to his Holmes. Most writers would have done that, and instantly veered off into the realms of fantasy. Here we have life, but a heightened version of it, which is surely what good fiction ought to be. I would read another without hesitation.