Murder Before Evensong
Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Richard Coles holds you cocooned in the ecclesiastical environment of the parish of Champton, ably administered by Canon Daniel Clement, where he lives alongside his widowed mother, Audrey (love this opinionated and fearless woman!) - and his two dachshunds Cosmo and Hilda (shades of Last of the Summer Wine!). What on earth could happen to upset the apparent calm of the village? How about Daniel announcing a plan to install a lavatory in the church, a proposal that divides the parish?
I had a problem for a while deciding which era this was set in but then little snippets such as Terry Wogan on TV and the clincher Celine Dion wins Eurovision for Switzerland. There you have it: 1988. I wonder why Richard Coles chose this year in which to set his cosy murder mystery?
Shortly after the toilet facilities are announced - as a possibility - Anthony Bowness, cousin to Bernard de Flores, patron of Champton - is found dead at the back of the church. Champton begins to mirror Midsomer as the bodies start piling up and Daniel is faced with the task of trying to keep his community together.
Murder Before Evensong is a brilliant and funny crime romp set in a village full of gossip and secrets. It's a portrayal of everyday life in a small community full of spiritual comfort and yet with a background of an uneasy atmosphere and tragic events in a wonderful, fictional English village.
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