This was my Mystery & Suspense group's March group read on LibraryThing. It's always fun with friends that have different opinions, but all agree that reading is loads of FUN!!! In all the books in this series a modern mystery is always investigated by DCI Wesley Peterson and the local police, while his friend Neil, sorts through a historic mystery that is tied to his local archeological work. Much of this book deals with a cold case for Wesley. The cold case was not unsolved, but new evidence comes to light when a witness provides a convincing alibi that may exonerated the man who had been imprisoned for the murder. One of the main strengths of this series is that there are almost always multiple on-going investigations. This one has someone who is poisoning food on the shelves of the local supermarket. The multiple investigations hold your interest and keep Wesley and crew busy, and the pacing is quick enough to keep you turning the pages. The premise of intertwining the historic mystery with the present-day mystery may be a gimmick, but hey, it works! This series is one that can be read out of order, but you see the growth of all the characters much better if you read them in order. My only negative comment is that someone needs to tell Rachel that her unprofessional romantic dithering is unprofessional and becoming tiring. ( )

I found the various crimes in this novel slightly less compelling than usual - they all seemed a bit distant somehow. Also, when a man is at home with his children, that's called parenting, not baby-sitting. ( )

What's not to like with this series of crime stories? AA bit of history, a cracking tale and, I nearly beat DI Peterson (again) to the denouement. ( )

Foodstuffs in a supermarket are being deliberately poisoned with botulism while construction of a new branch is being planned in a field which was once a plague pit. What is the connection with the murder of a vicar twelve years earlier? Was the wrong man convicted? And who is the modern body unearthed in the plague pit?

Good parallels between the two periods as usual. I guessed who the murderer was about half way through and the final revelation concerning the back story didn't surprise me. ( )

Good plotting, nice characterisation and a genuinely intriguing mise en scene, where the Black Death's impact on a Devon village resonates into a current day story of poison and chemical warfare. Very readable.