A Ghost in the Machine: A Chief Inspector Barnaby Novel (Chief Inspector Barnaby Novels Book 7)

When a bloody, pulverized body is found lying beneath the rustic timbers of an authentic torture device so vicious and complicated as to be blood-curdling, there's sufficient unrest in tiny Forbes Abbot to call in Chief Inspector Barnaby. Was Dennis Brinkley done in by crooked business partners, a teenage seductress, a couple of would-be publishers who've just inherited--and then lost--millions, or perhaps by tired, timid little Benny Fraye, who wouldn't hurt a fly--would she? Barnaby will soon find out just who set in motion the gruesome machine that crushed the unfortunate victim. Caroline Graham's delightful cozy village mysteries, which inspired the continuing Midsommer Murders series starring Inspector Barnaby on A&E Television, have long been fan-favorites; A Ghost in the Machine is sure to cement her reputation as one of the best crime writers in the mystery business today.

SOME SECRETS ARE DEADLY IN THIS WORLD-

AND THE NEXT...

Scrupulously honest and warm-hearted, solicitor Dennis Brinkley was about the most-liked person in the peaceful country village of Forbes Abbot. His only eccentricity: restoring fearsome ancient war machines. So when he's killed by a cannonball from one of his contraptions, even Chief Inspector Barnaby believes it's a freak accident. Until an opportunistic medium claims Dennis is about to reveal his murderer to her ...and soon turns up deceased herself.

Now, with two people dead and a possible witness missing, Barnaby must untangle the sinister doings and passionate obsessions underneath Forbes Abbot's vale of seeming tranquility. And the eminently rational chief inspector must uncover evidence of things not seen before time runs out-and a calculating killer forever gets beyond his reach.

"Graham's ingeniously constructed novels featuring Chief Inspector Barnaby are actually clever satires, closer to Robert Barnard than Agatha Christie in their cruel theatricality."

-Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

"The investigation is top rate, but it is the eccentricity of the villagers that make for a fantastic cozy-like tale."

-Midwest Book Review

Publishers Weekly

With its focus on a dozen or so richly diverting characters, British author Graham's well-plotted ninth novel featuring Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby (The Killings at Badger's Drift, etc.) has more in common with Dickens than with Conan Doyle. After old Carey Lawson's natural death, her nephew Mallory Lawson, whose idealism has trapped him in a teaching job he can't tolerate; his wife, Kate, who nurses a dream of publishing good books; and their willful, spoiled daughter Polly share in a legacy that will transform their lives. Carey's amiable, competent financial consultant and executor, Dennis Brinkley, collects huge and ancient weapons of war. The indecisive, diffident manner of the late woman's companion, Benny Frayle, hides a steely core of determination. Other striking characters include a medium who's a frustrated actress and her strange, abused daughter; a fortune hunter whose rich wife turns out to be no bargain; and a childless woman who finds an unusual answer for her longings. The first unnatural death occurs well into the book and doesn't become a murder investigation till halfway through. Those impatient with the initial lack of action will be well rewarded when the redoubtable Barnaby finally starts to sort things out. (Aug. 18) FYI: This series inspired the Midsommer Murders series starring Inspector Barnaby on A&E Television. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

When a bloody, pulverized body is found lying beneath the rustic timbers of an authentic torture device so vicious and complicated as to be blood-curdling, there's sufficient unrest in tiny Forbes Abbot to call in Chief Inspector Barnaby. Was Dennis Brinkley done in by crooked business partners, a teenage seductress, a couple of would-be publishers who've just inherited--and then lost--millions, or perhaps by tired, timid little Benny Fraye, who wouldn't hurt a fly--would she?

Barnaby will soon find out just who set in motion the gruesome machine that crushed the unfortunate victim. Caroline Graham's delightful cozy village mysteries, which inspired the continuing Midsommer Murders series starring Inspector Barnaby on A&E Television, have long been fan-favorites; A Ghost in the Machine is sure to cement her reputation as one of the best crime writers in the mystery business today.

When eccentric Dennis Brinkley is found dead by a cannonball from one of his fearsome ancient war contraptions, everyone believes it's a freak accident. That is until a medium claims that Dennis is about to reveal his murderer to her--and she is then found dead. Inspector Barnaby must now untangle the sinister doings and obsessions underneath the village's seeming tranquility before a calculating killer gets beyond his reach When a bloody, pulverized body is found lying beneath the rustic timbers of an authentic torture device, there's sufficient unrest in the tiny village of Forbes Abbot to call in Chief Inspector Barnaby. Martin's Press Chief Inspector Barnaby is called in to investigate a case of murder in tiny Forbes Abbot when the body of Dennis Brinkley is found next to a gruesome medieval torture device