This is actually the first in the series by Grimes. In this one we get to see the cop, Richard Jury, and the aristocrat, Melrose Plant, meet and develop an appreciation for each other. In book two, which I read just a couple of days ago, Plant just happened to be a guest of the master of the great house. I'm afraid that getting him on the scene for a whole series of these could be a bit of a strain, but probably no worse than many others.
This time we have a series of bizarre murders: murders of complete strangers to the village. (Do English villages really have such silly names? Long Piddleton? On the other hand, Grimes is an American, maybe she is just having a little fun at expense of the British.) Then the body of a local girl turns up.
It takes digging way back to discover the connections and uncover the mastermind behind it all.
This story takes place over Christmas. The next one - advantage of reading them out of sequence - is set following twelfth night, January 6. Running them pretty close.
There are some nice bits between Jury and a couple of kids from the village. Not enough to make me consider this "cozy," however. For some reason Jury loves to make tracks in fresh snow, and these kids present themselves and allow him to teach them tracking - by tracking up the snow in the village square. A really nice bit.
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