STABBING IN THE STABLES (Simon Brett)

Usually I find that female characters created by male writers are not convincing, so Carole and Jude were a pleasant surprise. These friends, one new agey and plump, the other rather rigid and conventional, make a nice match and strike a realistic chord. When Jude is asked to attempt to heal a lame horse she stumbles upon a man's body in the stable yard. The body is eventually identified as Walter Fleet, retired champion equestrian, stable owner, and notorious ladies' man. Due to the victim's extra-curricular antics, a large number of suspects emerge as Carol and Jude investigate the crime. The police attribute the crime to the "Horse-Ripper", an unidentified killer whose previous crime victims have been of the equine variety, but Carol and Jude suspect that one of the locals is responsible. An interesting cast of characters and village setting make this a very pleasant read.