An Occupied Grave: An addictive British mystery detective series (A Brock & Poole Mystery Book 1)

One of the best detective books that I have read in recent years. Set in the sleepy little English town of Bexford, where young Detective Sergeant Poole arrives for his first posting, assigned to the massive Detective Inspector Brock of brusque manner and sloppy habits. Both Poole and Brock have had traumatic experiences in their past lives, which they try to suppress, quite often in vain, and which continue to affect their actions and reactions in the present. Poole barely steps into the Police Station, when there is a call for action-a body found in a newly dug grave. Plunged into the intricacies of solving a murder, Poole soon finds that he has a natural bent for detection, and also a friend and backer in his new boss. The town also reveals hidden treasures, cafes and bars where new friendships develop, and Poole begins to feel at home. But solving the murder turns out to be a challenge, all obvious clues leading nowhere. A motley collection of characters each with their own fads and foibles, and probable motives for murder. Not till the very end, will you know “who dun it”.

I could continue reading the book and was interesting. Ok

A really gripping story and fast moving too. I really enjoyed it.I wish there was more about Poole and his father's relationship.

Did not like it much!... Not worth to read

enjoyed reading the book

Boring nothing new totally predictable. Went by the reviews but found nothing new. Also, the characters were left undeveloped in most cases

Just ok

Good plot, likeable and interesting characters, but a few glaring errors spoilt it for me. In the UK a coroner is not a forensic pathologist - they don't cut up bodies or determine cause of death; The coroner's jurisdiction is limited to determining who the deceased was and how, when and where they came by their death.There are also too many aberant apostrophes (the Pagets randomly became the Paget's) and, while I have to put up with with people saying "was sat" and "was stood" in real life, it's poor English and shouldn't be used in writing. I also rather objected to "gotten" cropping up periodically.

This is the first book I've read by this author. I liked the story and the characters. However, there were quite a few mistakes in the text so more attention could have been given to the proof reading - annoying to have to go back over the words to make sense of the wording. I would like to read more books written by this author and see how the various characters develop BUT I was taught to say (and write) "he was sitting on the edge of the bed" and not "he was sat on the edge of the bed". This way of using the present tense is used all the way through and is clumsy and downright irritating! It has certainly put me off buying the next book I'm afraid and that's a shame.

The story was compelling from the start, however several glaring errors made it hard work. A decent proof reader is required (I would consider sacking whomever is the current one). It was obvious that the author decided that too much had happened on the first day so split it into two days, but then forgot to change references to match, for example, the police referred to what happened that morning, when it was actually the day before. Another error was that Poole had already ordered a drink at the bar, but when a colleague arrived at the bar he indicated for them to order first, then ordered his again after. This did spoil the story considerably for me. The ending did feel a little rushed, as if time had run out for the book to be completed, and left so many questions unanswered too. I would like to read the next story to see if the writing style improves

This book, for me was a series of highs and lows. Okay, the lows first. Research into how the police work, how scenes of crimes are handled, how pathologists work and even how police vehicles are used is non-existent. Detective supervisors generally supervise detectives. There are senior (never superior) ranks. Individual detectives aren't given cars to use. They also don't have uniformed officers to do their menial tasks. Sergeants aren't referred to as "sir". I could go on forever. However, look at many telly series about British cops and they display a similar fictitious organisation, often penned by well respected authors. So, suspend belief and go forward.The story itself reminded me of one of the telly shows mentioned above. It's like an episode from Midsomer Murders. It's all there. The village green, the cast of local characters, the vicar, the strange person living in the woods. I even pictured in my head the two main characters as looking like John Nettles and his sidekick. But, hey, if you like that sort of thing, then you'll like this, so it's not all bad by any means. The story itself is a suitably polished whodunnit and guessing the real culprit isn't easy. the sup-plots, the recently transferred DS and grumpy DI, the love interests and the errant father of the DS coming out of prison all help to pad things out suitably.So, if you can look past the inaccuracies, what we are left with is a good, readable story. I nearly scratched two stars off for my overall rating, but on reflection, four stars seems about right. An enjoyable read.

Perhaps village greens and vicars went out with Agatha Christie , but it was good to see them back and working so well as background for this , excellent novel. Likeable main characters , with interesting back stories and good police proceedure . No gratuitous sex.violence or crazed corrupt senior officers , whch seems almost mandatory in many crime stories . However, the sudden ending and all the unfinished bits and bobs , was an obvious ploy to leave readers wanting more.Next stop, order number 2 and hope there is a number 4 in the pipe line.