Templeton, Aline – COLD IN THE EARTH

[LJ Roberts]

COLD IN THE EARTH (Police Procedural-Scotland-Cont) – VG Templeton, Aline – 1^st
in series
Hodder & Stoughton, 2005- Hardcover

Detective Inspector Marjory Fleming is also a mother and wife raising chickens and sheep in Scotland. When foot-and-mouth disease breaks out in their area, she and her neighbors are faced with losing all their livestock. Laura Harvey, living in New York, is at loose ends with her life after her mother dies. In search of her sister, missing 15 years, her journey takes her to Scotland and an involvement with the Mason family. When the Mason family's prize bulls are destroyed, a pit is dug to bury the carcasses, and the body of a female is found.

Even though I suspected the killer, it didn't diminish my enjoyment in the reading. The characters are dimensional and so well drawn. The dialogue is excellent, even with the Scottish terms I didn't quite understand. She descriptions paint visual pictures of the people and the area which build tension and suspense in the plot. Her writing is described as atmospheric, and it is. This is the first book I've read by Templeton, but it only took a few pages to decide it won't be the last.