A Bird in the Hand

I've read hundreds of both British mysteries and cosy murders, including ALL of Christie, Tey, Sayers, Doyle, Marsh, Rinehart, Rendell, etc. -- Ann Cleeves clearly deserves to be mentioned in association with, or even elevated above, that notable league of authors. "A Bird in the Hand" is one of my very favorite cozy murders ever. It's the story of a young and aggressive birdwatcher whose corpse turns up in the marshes of a nearby wildlife reserve. The victim was only ever superficially tolerated by his associates and, as retired Home Office investigator George Palmer-Jones investigates the murder, suspects begin to emerge like blue-bottles from a garbage can. The author weaves in plenty of juicy clues and superlative sub-plots. There's plenty to savour here, not the least of which include the great locations and the gratifying atmosphere. Palmer-Jones is a "gentleman detective" who is also infinitely human when it comes to occasional mis-steps and, thus, the reader is empowered to see the case from his point of view. It's through shrewd persistence that Palmer-Jones ultimately prevails. This one is in my top five of all mysteries and I cannot say enough good about it.