Murder Before Evensong: The instant no. 1 Sunday Times bestseller (Canon Clement Mystery)

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I have read a lot of mystery,romance diction recently by current American authors but they don't shine in the way that this does -- they are OK but only 3. Overall, a pretty good debut and, if this is the start of a series, I would happily read more of Canon Daniel Clement’s crime-solving adventures in future books. I never felt the slightest hint of tension, I never cared about any of the characters and the reveal was so far-fetched it left me defeated more than anything. His likable protagonist Canon Daniel Clement's struggle to get parishioners to accept the installation of a new church toilet is every bit as gripping as his investigation of the inevitable series of mystifying murders. I was a bit thrown near the beginning when it said Daniel was born during the Battle of Britain - I hadn’t realised that the story is set in the 1980s,so Daniel isn’t the ancient cleric with the centenarian mother that I had imagined.

Richard Coles is one of the most sparkling, entertaining, clever and lovable people in public life, as rare and precious to British culture as a Norman cathedral. There was a lot of book before the first murder occurred and parish life did not seem unduly interrupted by it. 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. I was hoping (given The Reverend Richard Coles' past life and amusing anecdotes) for something like Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club books, but featuring a rector, alas it was not to be. The first in the Canon Clement series is a truly entertaining read and will leave you yearning for more!

The Vicar of Dibley type setting is entertaining; the canon himself is rather bland but has potential.

Blending it all together means we’ve got a murder mystery that doesn’t center murders, a comedic plot that never develops, and detailed descriptions of church services which feel too lengthy and out of place. The plot was good but the ending was rather disappointing and rushed, giving little time or food for thought to enable the reader to speculate on the identity of the murderer. Murder Before Evensong has all the elements that make up a classic detective story: a pitch-perfect setting, a genuine puzzle, a gruesome murder (or more) and engaging characters.

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.