The Healers (Inspector Ramsay Book 5)

Book 5 in this series of early works by the author of the Vera and Shetland novels. Inspector Ramsay has another murder-mystery to solve within a tight community where there are a mixed bag of suspects.More a novella than a full-blown work, this is a clever who-dunnit from the early pen of a master of murder fiction, not to be missed by fans of Ann Cleeves.A pity this only available at a grossly over-priced price for such a few pages.

Ann Cleeves is one of my favourite crime authors though she's perhaps better known for her Shetland and Vera series.Alas, this is book #5 of the Inspector Ramsay tales - the penultimate in the series. I have enjoyed every episode and couldn't put my Kindle down.Inspector Ramsay investigates the murder of a farmer who body was discovered by a traveller on his kitchen floor. There is plenty of intrigue to keep the reader guessing.....If you liked previous books from Ann Cleeves, you'll enjoy this one too 👌

I’m a great Ann Cleese’s reader but have found this book difficult to get into, a little bit disappointing read

It's taken sometime to get into reading this murder mystery. No doubt that I was expecting something faster and in the same vein as Vera or Shetland just because this was written by Ann Cleeves. The mystery was overall a good, but slow read and Inspector Ramsey comes over as a quiet and thought provoking person who goes about his detective style completely in a different way to Vera or Shetland. It's an interesting book and perhaps will read another from the Ramsey series soon if only to get more into his style of solving mysteries.

I don't know why it took me so long to discover this book, however I'm glad I did. I read it when the UK was in lockdown did to the coronavirus pandemic. It was a much welcomed distraction. The writing and the characters we're not quite as polished as in her later books but the story was every bit as clever. As the story progressed I thought I had the killer sussed, only to change my opinion later. In the end I didn't get it correct which made a welcome change from the many whodunnits where the plot is obvious fairly early in the book. To be critical by the time I had finished the book I found myself disliking most of the characters; the two I quite liked were underdeveloped and not fully fleshed out. Nonetheless it was a thoroughly satisfying read.

This is a reprint of a much earlier book written in 1995 and it is not as polished as her later books. The characters are not as well developed and the plot line was excruciatingly slow. Having said that, the ending was unexpected. There were quite a few typographical errors so for a full price book I would have expected better proof reading before it was reprinted.

the murder of a farmer in the countryside introduces us to a cast of characters we get to know well, the youngsters who have dropped out of the rat race, the earnest alternative therapists, the upwardly mobile farming families, all suspects in the murder, yet as usual with Ann Cleeves, the reader is seduced into understanding and maybe sympathising with their point of view.Inspector Ramsay is fairly self effacing during the case, and his struggles with his colleagues make amusing reading, also his burgeoning relationship with his girlfriend. An intriguing mystery which will appeal to lovers of Who-dun-its, and lovers of countryside.

Very good story