5 May 2024.
ISBN: 978-1-83526629-8(PB)
Originally Published 1 December 2012 as
Burying the Past
Detective Chief Inspector Fran Harmer should be gloriously happy. Her lover,
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Turner has just proposed marriage and soon they
will move into the handsome Georgian rectory they have bought and are having
renovated. However, there are an overwhelming number of problems for them to
cope with and many of them link the personal and professional sides of their
lives. A senior police officer, who had once been mentored by Fran, has
committed suicide and the well-respected Chief Constable feels he has failed in
duty of care and must tender his resignation. Mark is the obvious person to
succeed him, at least as Acting Chief Constable, but Mark feels it is too late
in his career to take on such a high profile and demanding role, especially in
light of his personal challenges. Chief among these is that Mark’s daughter,
Sammie, had moved into his house with him, bringing her two children with her,
claiming that her partner was abusing her. Mark made Sammie welcome, but once she
was established in the house, she changed the locks when Mark was out and
proceeded to squat there, which left Mark homeless until he moved in with Fran.
To add to the complications, a skeleton has just been discovered in the vegetable bed of Fran and Mark’s new house and their dream home has changed from a building site to a crime scene. The sale of Fran’s cottage has been completed, which means that they will soon be potentially homeless. As if this was not stressful enough, a young prostitute has confessed to a vicar friend of Fran and Mark that she stabbed a man who had tried to rape and rob her, but her story is contradictory and when the vicar has to go into hospital the young woman disappears.
At her high rank Fran is supposed to attend numerous meetings and oversee investigations rather than lead an investigation herself. However, when it comes to a body in her own garden, she is determined to be more hands on, especially as the officer in charge of the investigation is both inexperienced and acerbic and has alienated their builders, as well as being inclined to strip Fran’s newly renovated home back to bare bricks. The mystery of the murder in the rectory grounds is complicated by problems not only in identifying the victim but also in discovering the early history of the previous owner, who seems to have been a woman of mysterious origins.
Fran also becomes involved in the investigation of the claims of the young prostitute, determined to do all she can to help the girl that her vicar friend wishes to assist. At the same time Fran tries to support Mark as he has to deal with a new, politically manipulative Chief Constable and his own family problems. She becomes increasingly worried that the stress will impact his health and that he will have a heart attack or breakdown before she can persuade him to retire.
No Harm Done is the fourth book in the series
featuring Fran Harmer and it was originally published in 2012. It is an
interesting book that weaves several story strands together to form a complex
but cohesive narrative. Fran and her friends and colleagues are engaging characters,
and this is a very enjoyable read, which I recommend.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron
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