This was almost unbearably enjoyable; I really didn't want it to end. The combination of village personal drama with murder mystery is great, although of course I suspect I'd like it even more without the mystery."It is quite extraordinary how angrily you can dislike a persopn with whom you are in love. Peter had moments of cold fury in which he told himself that he never wanted to see her again. As these persisted side by side with a complete inability to stay away from her, his mental state was naturally an extremely uncomfortable one, and as far as possible removed from the placidity of his hypothetical courtship."When I was pregnant with my daughter I read a metric ton of Angela Thirkell -- now that I'm pregnant again Wentworth is fulfilling the same niche, although I think she is (on the whole) better (and much kinder) writer.