If you thought the Cotswolds was an idyllic haven of tranquility, a read of crime writer Ann Granger's latest detective novel series will set you straight.

Her second Campbell and Carter mystery is set in a fictional Cotswold village that is far from quiet and peaceful.

The discovery of a body in a crumbling old manor house shatters the serenity of the community and sets the scene for a chilling tale.

A prolific author, Ann is one of the country's best-loved crime writers and has written many novels both under her own and pen names.

Her output ranges from historical romances to "cops and conundrums" crime thrillers.

From her base in rural Oxfordshire, Ann has written several series of crime novels with different detectives working out whodunnit.

Rack, Ruin and Murder features Inspector Jess Campbell and Superintendent Ian Carter trying to make sense of a corpse found lying in the drawing room of the grand home of old Monty Bickerstaffe.

Monty lives alone and the last thing he wants is the police sniffing around his property. Not that he has anything to hide.

The identity of the corpse and how and why it was left in Monty's home remain a mystery. The locals swear they've seen nothing unusual and Monty's relatives claim they've never set eyes on the stiff before.

But Inspector Jess Campbell is convinced that someone's lying and, with the help of Superintendent Ian Carter, she must dig deep into Monty's family history to reveal the shocking truth.

From this brief resume, it is easy to see why Ann's books are successful in such a competitive field as crime fiction.

"It is a hugely popular genre," said Ann. "People don't seem to be able to get enough of crime novels."

Campbell and Carter have followed in the footsteps of Ann's previous detective duo Mitchell and Markby who were also based in the Cotswolds, an area of the country close to her heart through family and other connections.

"I have relatives living in Newnham who I often visit and of course I travel quite a lot around the area for leisure or to research my books," she said.

"It's such a beautiful area of the country – who would have thought so many murders could take place here.

"Actually, although the villages are rural and idyllic, the Cotswolds aren't remote and can be very busy, bustling places so it's not out of the realms of possibility that things like this could happen there."

Before she began writing, Ann worked in British embassies around the world, including the former Yugoslavia, Africa and Germany.

Fresh out of university, Ann taught English for a year in France before deciding teaching wasn't for her and went to work in the visa sections of British consulates and embassies.

She met her husband during her time in the diplomatic service and together they worked in places such as Vienna, Munich and Lusaka in Zambia.

"When we started a family we decided it was time to settle down so we came home," said Ann, who is now in her 70s.

She has been writing romances under the pen name Ann Hulme since the 1970s, but her first crime novel, Say it with Poison, came out in 1991.

"The Cotswolds are a great place to set this type of story because, behind the tranquil and beautiful exterior, lots can be going on as it is a busy place," she said.

"There are also a great number of interesting and lovely buildings in this area and this latest series of books are all set in different buildings.

"The first, Mud, Muck and Dead Things, was set on an old farm, and in this one it is a crumbling manor – there are lots of possibilities."

Ann reckons she writes a book in about a year and interchanges a modern tale with one set in Victorian Britain.

Her latest Victorian novel, A Particular Eye for Villainy, is coming out in June, and another murder mystery is also in the pipeline.

Rack, Ruin and Murder is published in paperback by Headline, priced at £7.99