Green and Pleasant Land

By: Judith Cutler

Narrated by: Patricia Gallimore

Newly retired, ex-chief superintendent Fran Harman and her partner, Mark, have volunteered to assist West Mercia police in reinvestigating an unsolved crime.

Twenty years ago a car was found abandoned on an isolated forest road running, its hazard lights still flashing, the passenger door open. In the back were two child seats. One was empty; in the other lay a desperately ill baby. Neither the baby's mother nor the elder child were ever seen again.

As they question those who knew the missing woman, Fran and Mark uncover worrying discrepancies and mistaken assumptions underlying the original police investigation. In their new role as civilians in a police world, they find themselves encountering hostility from some of those they question.

©2014 Judith Cutler (P)2015 Isis Publishing Ltd

Love this series

I Have really enjoyed this series and not sure if this may be the last book. The partnership of now ex police officers Fran and Mark is well drawn and developed over the series. Newly retired and recently married they are asked to consult on a cold case in the midlands . The plot had quite a few twists and the pace was good . There was a different narrator for this book I preferred Diana Bishop who read the previous books but once I got used to her voice this narrator was fine. I prefer police procedurals to be a bit edgier and this does lean a bit more towards cozy as does the whole series but still has enough reality to it . The denouement was unexpected.

Good Addition to the Fran Harmon Series

Fran Harmon and her newish husband Mark Turner, once high ranking members of he police force, now retired and taking on occasional consulting work on cold cases, are called to check out a twenty year old missing person case. Twenty years ago an SUV is found abandoned inside the forest. On the back seat is a dead baby, missing are the wife and young son of a local footballer.

However even before Fran and Mark begin their investigation it appears that something changed between the time they were asked to take on the contract and their arrival.

I enjoyed the story and narration although Judith Culver tends to be a little less edgy than I like my police procedurals to be. If Fran seems a bit softer than in the earlier books and I got the conclusion before the detectives, I still enjoyed it.

What happened?!

Would you try another book from Judith Cutler and/or Patricia Gallimore?

Yes but not with this reader.

Would you be willing to try another book from Judith Cutler? Why or why not?

Yes. Up to this book I liked the Fran and Mark characters and story line.

What didn’t you like about Patricia Gallimore’s performance?

Her voice was horrible to listen to. I felt she aged Fran and Mark from? 60 or so to 80 year olds. Her dialects were grim. I won't listen to (or buy ) another book with this reader. A friend who also is an audible member and likes this author said she quit the book within a half an hour because she couldn't stand the voice.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was disappointed in this book. Fran and Mark just retired. There is no way they would get that old and crotchety that fast. I listened to all the books in this series in the last few months and the previous one right before this one. I just kept thinking about all the emphasis on their age related problems (hearing, aches and pains) was a real turn off. Up until this book I loved the characters and the storyline but this one was like a visit to a crotchety old pair who I didn't even like.I will try the next book this author writes with this pair but if the next one isn't better, that is it for me.