Cold in the Earth is Ann Granger

Ann Granger

Patricia Ann Granger is a British crime writer.Granger was born in Portsmouth, England. She took a Modern Languages degree at the University of London, taught English for a year in France, but eventually went to work in the visa sections of British consulates and embassies in Yugoslavia,...

's third Mitchell and Markby Mystery. Set in rural England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, it is about three seemingly unconnected deaths which occur in quick succession in the fictitious town of Bamford in the Cotswolds

Cotswolds

The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

. Chief Inspector Alan Markby and his team are unofficially joined in their investigations by Meredith Mitchell—who is introduced in Say It with Poison

Say It With Poison

Say It With Poison is a whodunnit or mystery novel by Ann Granger. It is the first in a series of 15 Mitchell and Markby Mysteries....

—, who leaves her London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 job to spend Holy Week

Holy Week

Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...

 in the country.

Plot summary

The first death is from a drug overdose

Drug overdose

The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...

; the victim is a promising young girl from a respectable local family. However, Markby's investigations, which aim at getting hold of the suppliers, do not lead anywhere. Shortly afterwards, the body of a stranger, possibly a foreigner, is found buried in a shallow grave in a trench

Trench

A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground. Trenches are generally defined by being deeper than they are wide , and by being narrow compared to their length ....

 at a building site on the outskirts of Bamford. Finally, a local construction foreman

Construction foreman

A construction foreman is the worker or tradesman who is in charge of a construction crew. While traditionally this role has been assumed by a senior male worker, the title in the modern sense is gender non-specific in intent...

 employed at that very building site is slain to death on a lonely country road.

Mitchell and Markby probe into the dubious roles played by land developers

Land development

Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...

, diehard farmer

Farmer

A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...

s and juvenile delinquents

Juvenile delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...

alike.