Say It with Poison

Granger's strong debut features Meredith Mitchell, a British consular officer who encounters murder during her Oxfordshire holiday, and contemplative chief inspector Alan Markby. Throughout their investigations of two well-plotted village murders, the two sleuths--working for the most part separately but along parallel paths of detecton--stand out as realistically portrayed, mature characters whose motivations for solving the case are nearly as interesting as the crime itself. Indeed, this is one of those volumes to be savored by connoisseurs of characterization since the murder cannot be unraveled without gaining an understanding of the inner lives of those connected with the events. Meredith's duty visit to attend the wedding of her goddaughter, Sara, swiftly becomes anything but an ordinary nuptial occasion when Meredith finds a bloody ox heart tied to the gate of the house bearing the message ``Welcome Home Sara.'' From there the inquisitive godmother discovers one by one that the locals are not all that they appear to be, including the charming local potter Philip Lorrimer, Lorrimer's theatening elderly neighbor, Sara's glamorous movie-star mother, the all-too-suave fiance and of course, the bride-to-be herself. It takes Meredith a bit longer to begin to understand the enigmatic chief inspector, whose attraction to her is delicately drawn by Granger. This novel establishes Granger as an author of considerable promise. (Apr.)