If you like old villages, country gossip, and some wild driving, check out this charming story. A great Detective story! A new discovery of old bones, buried near an oak tree in a forgotten field, drives Chief Inspector Peter Hatherall and Detective Inspector Fiona Williams down a road of village skeletons. The clues revealed by the village characters, after hours of interviews and footwork, bring the reader closer to old stories and places. Murder and mayhem follow an elite group of land owners.... Barriers of class are broken to hide secrets. Sometimes a crime is beyond understanding, but it affects all those touched by the act in some emotional way. The detectives try to understand what happen as they weave their way through bizarre behaviors. Peter also deals with his own personal skeletons. He tries to come to terms with his past and pave a way for a better future with his family. I enjoyed reading this who done it, and watch as a couple of detectives find their way to work together. ( )

A debut title and the first in a series. The author has gone on to write more than a dozen titles, including five more in this series.

During a big storm, a large tree falls over and reveals a skeleton. There is no problem in identifying the body as there is a bracelet that identifies her as a girl who had gone missing twenty years before. It seems most likely that she had been working at one of the local riding stables but nobody is able to remember her.

After her body is identified her twin brother and a cousin both turn up in the village. DCI Peter Hatherall and his offsider DC Fiona Wilson try to track down all who might have some knowledge of what was happening twenty years before. A mixture of local gossip and a set of old photos point the way for them.

While the story is very readable, and most of the i's get dotted and the t's crossed by the end, there are signs that this is a debut novel - for example there are a number of characters who come to nothing, and side-plots that have little significance. Peter Hatherall predictably has a curmudgeonly boss who threatens to take the case away from him if he doesn't get results "soon", and one of the suspects plays golf with someone higher up the chain than Peter Hatherall. Peter has domestic issues, a problem daughter, and a tragedy in the past, that all add dimensions to his character.

I'm looking forward to reading the second in the series. ( )

England, law-enforcement, procedural, murder, murder-investigation, skeleton, relationship-issues, rural, class-consciousness, small-business, small-town, horses*****

Hatherall’s personal life is a mess, Fiona (his off sider) is fresh out of a relationship, and the landholder where the skeleton was found is a real piece of work (as is his wife). The characters are so very well done (even the gossips in the pub). And the skeletons are about to be forced out of their closets. Good story! ( )

I've read and enjoyed other books in this series and am a Peter Hatherall fan! It only made sense to go back and read the one it all began with. If I want a good English mystery Febry is the author I turn to! I enjoyed every minute of the Skeletons and am looking forward to more! ( )

The Skeletons of Birkbury is a classic "whodunit", situated in a quiet British village. The corpse of a young woman is found buried under a tree, and Chief Inspector Peter Hatherall and Detective Inspector Fiona Williams are called to the scene. They pretty soon discover that something is rotten in the small village.

I think the book is well written and exciting. I like crime books that have a tight dramatic development, and this is such a book. The dialogue is to the point, and contributes to the development of the characters. There is a creepy atmosphere to the book, which I really like. I think we will see several more great books from Diana J. Febry.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. ( )