The Punishment That She Deserves by Elizabeth George

I do not usually write about murder mysteries, even though I read them at a pace of about nine for every one book that I blog about.  I make an exception for Elizabeth George's Lynley series because they are so character rich and well written that I think they deserve some attention.  That, and the fact that it is 700 pages built around a small British village with all sorts of intrigue going on make it well worth a gander.
For those not familiar with the backbone of the story, Thomas Lynley comes from the landed gentry and is a flat out rebel for joining the police.  there are a number of crime fiction series that use this formula, but this one, in my opinion, is by far the best.  His preferred partner in solving crime is Barbara Havers, who doggedly pursues every inch of a case, infuriating all those who work with her, with a few exceptions, Lynley included.  Havers is on a last chance agreement, her superior is looking to boot her to the boonies, and she is assigned a case where he is sure that she will fail.  She sort of does and sort of doesn't at first and Lynley joins her for the second half of the book where they unravel what really happened when a well liked church deacon was taken into custody and was then found hanged in his cell.  Well done all around.