Caroline Graham, A Place of Safety (1999)

This British cosy mystery is the sixth out of seven Inspector Barnaby novels.

In a quiet Midsumer village, Ann Lawrence, the former vicar´s wife, has an argument with one of the young delinquents her husband tries to rehabilitate. Carlotta falls or jumps into the river and disappears without a trace. Timid Ann is devastated, and when her spiteful gardener blackmails her, she sees no alternative to paying what he wants.

Typically for Midsomer, the plot does not end here. Someone kills the gardener, but for some reason the blackmail continues.

What else can I say? All the best cosy mystery features are there; the quirks, the oddballs, the grudges beneath the tranquil facade, the old vicarage and the new glass palace, but also a few endearing characters, and all more real than life itself.

I bought the book myself.
.