Murder Before Evensong: The instant no. 1 Sunday Times bestseller (Canon Clement Mystery)
£4.70
THE INSTANTLY ICONIC NO. 1 BESTSELLER
‘Devotees of Midsomer Murders and Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple stories will feel most at home here’ Guardian
‘I’ve been waiting for a novel with vicars, rude old ladies, murder and sausage dogs… et voila!’ Dawn French
‘Cosy crime with a cutting edge’ Telegraph
‘Whodunnit fans can give praise and rejoice’ Ian Rankin
‘Charming and funny’ Observer
Even better than I knew it would be’ India Knight
‘Quintessentially English’ Sunday Express
‘An absolute joy’ Adam Kay
”Wry, tongue-in cheek and whimsical’ Daily Mail
‘Glorious’ Robert Webb
‘Beautifully written, charming, funny, intelligent and mordant too’ Sunday Times
‘Pitch perfect’ Philip Pullman
‘A cunning whodunnit’ Daily Express
Canon Daniel Clement is Rector of Champton, where he lives alongside his widowed mother – opinionated, fearless, ever-so-slightly annoying Audrey – and his two dachshunds, Cosmo and Hilda.
When Daniel announces a plan to install a lavatory in the church, the parish is suddenly (and unexpectedly) divided: as lines are drawn, long-buried secrets come dangerously close to destroying the apparent calm of the village.
And then Anthony Bowness – cousin to Bernard de Floures, patron of Champton – is found dead at the back of the church. As the police moves in and the bodies start piling up, Daniel is the only one who can try and keep his community together… and catch a killer.
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by Helen
I can hear Richard’s voice as he describes his characters. That’s a good thing! A seemingly gentle telling, with a few waspish comments. Lovely
by I. Papworth
Gently told tail of village life and death. A mix of Aga saga and Agatha Christie . Decent read but not a nail bitter
by Colin Wade
A charming whodunit set amongst the teacups , homemade jam and blue rinses of a quintessentially English village.
Richard Coles writes in a very intelligent and witty style and keeps the reader guessing throughout and his ecclesiastical detective is a joy to behold.
If you love Midsomer Murders with a humorous slant then this is your perfect holiday read.
by Mr. Douglas Moore
The novel was interesting enough but it seemed to be a little pretentious from time to time.
The pastoral insights were kindly presented and the story was written with warmth .
by david smith
Quality OK-speed of delivery also…..tough to review a BOOK that arrived yesterday !
by rainbow
Good story line. Keeps you interested
by Amazon Customer
It was an accurate portrayal of village life with everyone in their place and their secrets too. The finale was a little laboured but a good read.
by Kizzia Mildmay
I very much enjoyed the style in which this was written and found Canon Clement to be an interesting main character. However getting through the first third of the book was a slog; so many characters being named and introduced by way of Canon Clement describing them rather than us actually meeting them (as it were) made for slow going and left me feeling a little confused. As did the time period, it took me a while to realise this was set at the end of the 1980’s but everything made much more sense once I’d figured it out. I also found myself wondering when something was going to happen and actually made a mental note of the page number on which the first murder finally occurred.
The middle of the book was much better once the characters were actually allowed to show us who they all were and a murder actually took place. I quite enjoyed the interludes of ecclesiastical politics and the denouement, if a little rushed, was satisfying as the clues were all there and reasonably well hidden.
I won’t be rushing out to get the next book in the series but if I see it in the library I’ll certainly pick it up.