Published in hardback 9th June 2022 by W&N.
From the cover of the book:
Canon Daniel Clement is Rector of Champton. He has been there for eight years, living at the Rectory 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 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, stabbed in the neck with a pair of secateurs.
As the police moves in and the bodies start piling up, Daniel is the only one who can try and keep his fractured community together... and catch a killer.
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Canon Daniel Clement has been the rector of Champton for eight years now, and has settled nicely into his role as spiritual guide and good listener to his flock. Sharing the Rectory with his formidable, widowed mother Audrey, and his two dachshunds Cosmo and Hilda, can be trying (especially in Audrey's case), but the routine of a country clergyman suits him.
Champton is generally a quiet village, but Daniel's plan to install a lavatory in the church has unexpectedly caused uproar amongst its residents, especially within the ranks of the redoubtable Flower Guild. Feelings are running deep about the proposed meddling with the pews, and in the wake of the furore dark secrets connected to the history of the village threaten to be uncovered. For someone in Champton, this cannot be allowed to happen...
When a body is discovered in the church, stabbed with a pair of secateurs, Daniel finds himself embroiled in a murder investigation. Everyone in Champton is unsettled by the development, and as more bodies pile up, Daniel has his work cut out trying to discover the identity of the murderer at the side of his new found crime-solving partner DS Neil Vanloo.
Murder Before Evensong is the debut fiction novel of The Reverend Richard Coles, introducing Canon Daniel Clement to the world of cosy crime. Set in the rural village of Champton during the 1980s, Coles has a ball gently weaving small community dynamics, with a delicious undercurrent of menace, that evoke vibes of Agatha Christie's St Mary Mead combined with the countryside shenanigans of Midsomer Murders.
However peaceful Champton may first appear, its intriguing history means that a fair few of the members of this parish have things to hide, and curiously the skeletons all come tumbling out of their hiding places because of Daniel's plan to put a lavatory in the church. The story begins slowly, laying seeds of contention as we are introduced to the residents of Champton, and it is full of delectable twists and turns rife with red herrings that delve into the past.
There are all the characters you expect, from the well-respected, financially strained, Lord of the manor down through the vestiges of the former social order, and plenty of grist for the gossip mill at the counter of the village post office. Coles introduces some clever clashes of era too, with characters of the modern age uncomfortably rubbing shoulders with the more old-fashioned set, and he drops reference, after enjoyable reference, to 80s popular culture that I found very nostalgic. The relationship between Daniel and Audrey is especially delightful, as she completely disregards her son's more sedate way of doing things and forges on with an agenda of her own (Audrey, how I love you!).
I am a huge fan of the recent resurgence in cosy crime mysteries, and although this is perhaps not quite as sharp as some of the other novels of its kind in the best seller lists, it is cleverly constructed and has a real charm all of its own. Coles' experience as a member of the clergy brings a sincere poignancy to many of the events that happen in these pages, and there is a tangible sense of calm that comes from the inner peace Daniel derives from the routine duties of his office. I am not someone with faith, but found this rather comforting nonetheless. I also delighted in the frequent references to my beloved Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope, and laughed out loud at the comparison of the Bishop's chaplain to the odious Mr Slope. Thank you Reverend Coles!
This was such a joy to consume. I lapped it up in a single sitting, and am very much looking forward to the next instalment, Death in the Parish, which is out in June 2023.
Murder Before Evensong is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to W&N/Orion for gifting me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
About the author:
He writes regularly for the Sunday Times, and is the author of half a dozen books, including a bestselling autobiography, Fathomless Riches, and the bereavement bestseller The Madness of Grief, after the death of his partner, David Coles. Murder Before Evensong, the first book in the Canon Clement Mystery series, was an instant number 1 Sunday Times bestseller.
Richard is Patron of Greatwell Homes, a Housing Association providing social and affordable housing in east Northants, and is Chancellor of the University of Northampton.
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