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

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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. Even better than I knew it would be. Really well plotted... beautifully written, charming without being twee, funny, intelligent and mordant too. It's cosy, yes, but waaay better than "cosy crime" suggests. -- India Knight * SUNDAY TIMES * A wry, tongue-in cheek and whimsical debut with more than a trace of G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown... charming. -- Geoffrey Wansell * DAILY MAIL *

A] cunning whodunnit... This wise and often beautifully written novel remains most memorable as a sharp but sympathetic portrayal of everyday life in a small community and a clergyman's role within it. -- Jake Kerridge * DAILY EXPRESS *An absolute joy from cover to cover - funny, clever and wonderfully plotted. Praise be! * Adam Kay * Champton joins St Mary Mead and Midsomer in the great atlas of fictional English villages where the crimes are as dastardly as the residents delightful. Canon Daniel Clement must solve mysteries temporal and theological while surviving his parishioners tender ministries. Delightful! And only Richard Coles could pull this off so joyfully and with such style. Biscuit-thieving Cosmo, too, will soon have his own fan club. * Damian Barr * Coles' rendering of his fictional church, St Mary's, in the village of Champton, twinkles with quirky detail and sharp humour. -- Paul Connolly * METRO * 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. I enjoyed it very much. * Philip Pullman * Coles' murderous take on a quintessentially English parish makes for a likeable, cosy crime caper. -- Jon Coates * SUNDAY EXPRESS *

Violent deaths aside, it's a cosy world of Desert Island Discs, flower rotas and walnut cakes, beautifully written and evocative, run through with the comforting, ancient liturgical rhythms that transport you to Evensong and gentle organ music in a cool country church on a summer's evening. -- Kate Green * COUNTRY LIFE * Britain's favourite vicar might be hanging up the dog collar, but in Murder Before Evensong he proves to be the unlikely heir to Barbara Pym... 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.Devotees of Midsomer Murders and Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories will feel most at home here' Guardian He's very good on the nitty-gritty of a clergyman's life. 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. -- John Williams * MAIL ON SUNDAY * Coles has a gift for subtle comic writing... beyond the fascinating story with its rich characters, the real discovery here is the sniffing out of the author's formidable talent for writing about English life with English humour. Roll on the rest of the series! -- The Reverend Jonathan Aitken * THE OLDIE * 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. Coles is a sharp observer of human nature, but his observations are tempered with both humour and compassion, and much of the pleasure in the book lies in the incidental asides. -- CAROLINE CHARTRES * CHURCH TIMES *

I've been waiting for a novel with vicars, rude old ladies, murder and sausage dogs ... et voila! * Dawn French * Coles does a wonderful job of bringing his congregation to life... [and] moves seamlessly between humour and something deeper... Charming and funny, it is just what you'd expect from the excellent Coles. -- Alison Flood * THE OBSERVER, Thriller of the Month * Even better than I knew it would be. Really well plotted... beautifully written, charming without being twee, funny, intelligent and mordant too. It's cosy, yes, but waaay better than cosy crime suggests. -- India Knight * SUNDAY TIMES * I relished looking forward to reading this one; it was everything I hoped – an utter delight from beginning to end! The Reverend Richard Coles gives us a serpent in England's pastoral Eden - and whodunit fans can give praise and rejoice. * Ian Rankin *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. * Victoria Coren Mitchell * I've been waiting for a novel with vicars, rude old ladies, murder and sausage dogs... et voila!' Dawn French