Patricia Ann Granger (born 1939) is a British

crime writer Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

who has written almost forty books in four different detective series, as well as a collection of short stories.

Early life and education

Ann Granger was born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, England and attended the Northern Grammar School for Girls. Granger wanted to become a veterinarian, but discovered women were not accepted into vet schools because they were not believed to be strong enough. Instead she earned a Modern Languages degree at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, where she first developed a desire to become a writer.

Teacher and visa clerk

Realizing that it would take some time to develop a steady income as a writer, Granger instead taught English for a year in France. She then went to work in the visa sections of British

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

s and

embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes a ...

in France, Germany,

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. She married a colleague in the foreign service and went with him to

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and Germany before returning to live in England with their two children.

Writer

After returning to England, Granger turned her hand to writing, and produced the historical romance ''A Poor Relation'' in 1979. Between 1982 and 1991, Granger produced several more historical romances.

Mitchell & Markby

In 1991, Granger made the decision to switch to crime novels, saying, "Basically, there is only one plot in love stories: You can describe it in different ways, but you always come back to the subject of man and woman. Crime fiction opens up a world of possibilities for the writer. It lets you tackle deep and difficult issues." Her first crime novel, ''Say it with Poison'', centred on the protagonists Meredith Mitchell, a consular clerk, and police officer Alan Markby. The book proved popular and Granger wrote 14 more Mitchell & Markby novels between 1991 and 2004. During the series, Mitchell and Markby became romantically involved, but Granger resisted marrying them, believing that Meredith Mitchell could only work best as an independent woman. She finally married them in the final novel of the series, ''That Way Murder Lies'' (2004). A young police officer, Jessica Campbell, made an appearance in this novel — Granger would make her the protagonist of a new series four years later. In 2022, Granger added one more Mitchell & Markby novel featuring the now-retired couple, ''Deadly Company''.

Fran Varady

In 1997, Granger began her second detective series with ''Asking for Trouble'', featuring a very different protagonist, Fran Varady, an out-of-work and temporarily homeless actor. Granger explained, "I wanted to write about someone who is in a completely different situation than Meredith Mitchell: Meredith has a great job, a house, a car, a nice boyfriend, etc. - Fran has nothing. She is totally unattached." Over the next ten years, Granger wrote seven Fran Varady novels.

Lizzie Martin & Ben Ross

In 2006, as Granger was winding down the Fran Varady series, she wrote ''A Rare Interest in Corpses'', set in Victorian England in the 1860s and featuring Lizzie Martin, a companion to a wealthy widow, and Ben Ross, a police inspector. Although Granger had resisted marrying Mitchell and Markby in her first crime series, she had Martin and Ross marry very early in this series, reasoning that "Due to the restrictions on single women at the time, Lizzie wouldn't have had the freedom to be a detective in a whole series of books. Likewise, she and Ben shouldn't be allowed to spend much time together unsupervised." From 2008 to 2023, Granger added eight more novels to the series.

Campbell & Carter

In 2009, Granger returned to the modern world with ''Mud, Muck and Dead Things'', a novel set in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

and featuring Detective Inspector Jessica Campbell and Superintendent Ian Carter. To date, Granger has written seven novels in the series. In the sixth installment, ''An Unfinished Murder'', the retired couple Mitchell & Markby play a prominent role.

Short stories

In 2021, in recognition of thirty years of crime novels, Granger released a collection of eighteen short stories, ''Mystery in the Making''.

Awards and recognition

In 1999, Granger was inducted into the prestigious

Detection Club The Detection Club was formed in 1930 by a group of British mystery writers, including Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Arthur Morrison, Hugh Walpole, John Rhode, Jessie Louisa Rickard, Baroness Orczy, ...

. She is also a member of the

Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors' organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its "Dagger" awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. ...

in the UK and

Sisters in Crime Sisters in Crime (SinC) is a writing organization focused on increasing equity and inclusion for women crime writers within the publishing industry. The group has 4,500 members in 60+ regional chapters worldwide, offering networking, advice and su ...

in the US. Granger has been a best-selling author in Germany, selling millions of copies of her novels and placing in Germany's Top Five Bestseller list more than thirty times.

Bibliography

Historical romances (selection)

*'' A Poor Relation'' (1979) *'' Summer Heiress'' (1982) *'' The Garden of the Azure Dragon'' (1986) *'' The Unexpected American'' (1989) *'' A Scandalous Bargain'' (1990) *'' False Fortune'' (1991)

Mitchell & Markby mysteries

*''Say It With Poison'' (1991) *'' A Season for Murder'' (1991) *'' Cold in the Earth'' (1992) *'' Murder Among Us'' (1992) *'' Where Old Bones Lie'' (1993) *'' Flowers for His Funeral'' (1994) *'' A Fine Place for Death'' (1994) *'' Candle for a Corpse'' (1995) *'' A Word After Dying'' (1996) *''

A Touch of Mortality A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

'' (1996) *'' Call the Dead Again'' (1998) *'' Beneath These Stones'' (1999) *'' Shades of Murder'' (2000) *'' A Restless Evil'' (2002) *'' That Way Murder Lies'' (2004) *'' Deadly Company'' (2022)

Fran Varady mysteries

*'' Asking for Trouble'' (1997) *'' Keeping Bad Company'' (1997) *'' Running Scared'' (1998) *'' Risking It All'' (2001) *'' Watching Out'' (2003) *'' Mixing With Murder'' (2005) *'' Rattling the Bones'' (2007)

Ben Ross & Lizzie Martin mysteries

*'' A Rare Interest in Corpses'' (2006) *'' A Mortal Curiosity'' (2008) *'' A Better Quality of Murder'' (2010) *'' A Particular Eye for Villainy'' (2012) * ''The Testimony of the Hanged Man'' (2014) * ''The Dead Woman of Deptford'' (2016) * ''The Murderer's Apprentice'' (2019) * ''The Truth-Seeker's Wife'' (2021) * ''The Old Rogue of Limehouse'' (2023)

Campbell & Carter mysteries

*'' Mud, Muck and Dead things'' (2009) *'' Rack, Ruin and Murder'' (2011) *'' Bricks and Mortality'' (2013) *'' Dead in the Water'' (2015) *''Rooted in Evil'' (2017) *''An Unfinished Murder'' (2018) (featuring Mitchell & Markby) *'' A Matter of Murder'' (2020) *''Death on the Prowl'' (Audio book released Dec 2024 in UK)

Short story collections

*''Mystery in the Making'' (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Granger, Ann 1939 births Living people English crime fiction writers Alumni of the University of London Members of the Detection Club English women novelists British women mystery writers