Murder Before Evensong
Paperback Published on: 02/10/2025
Price: £10.99
Bookseller Reviews
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A heavenly murder story.
Canon Daniel Clement, Rector of Champton for eight years lives with his mother Audrey and his dachshunds, Cosmos and Hilda. When Daniel announces a plan to... READ MORE
Village Life Can Be Murder!
The Vicar of Dibley meets Midsummer Murders in this new thriller written by the Reverend Richard Coles, who makes his fictional debut in this cosy English ... READ MORE
Brilliantly characterised!
This very talented man has achieved success in yet another medium. No gratuitous violence or unnecessary gore, instead a light hearted high octane mystery... READ MORE
The Vicar of Christie
Let's begin with the obvious; this is indeed a cosy crime blend of the Vicar of Dibley, Agatha Christie and a dash of Thursday Murder Club. It's not fully ... READ MORE
Brilliant, but slightly too cosy
There is no doubt that the Reverend Richard Coles is one of our most loved national treasures. His two volumes of autobiography and the inspirational, movi... READ MORE
A little gem…
A fascinating debut from Rev Richard Coles. Yes a murder mystery set in a small village, yes a detecting Canon with a pair of adorable dogs and yes you cou... READ MORE
A wonderful murdery romp
I loved this. It was a glorious murdery romp. I picked it up needing to lose myself in a feel-good, amusing and intriguing mystery – that was exactly what ... READ MORE
Introducing everyone's new favourite amateur sleuth!
Rev Richard Coles’ debut novel is the epitome of pure escapist joy. Marking the first in a series, Murder Before Evensong introduces a character who is sur... READ MORE
Brilliantly observed village church murder series
Now here is a very well written country murder. Rev Coles is a beloved figure in media and now text. He writes extremely well, featuring on-the-nail villag... READ MORE
Fun cosy country crime
If you love aga sagas and gentle crime mixed with rural Christianity then this is the book for you. It is funny, observant, and full of golden age suspense... READ MORE
The Thursday Murder Club, with added dog-collar!
If you like the Thursday Murder Club, Agatha Christie, Midsomer Murders and books set in the eighties, before the Internet, I feel sure that you will love ... READ MORE
Synopsis
THE INSTANTLY ICONIC NO.1 BESTSELLER: NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES
BOOK 1 IN THE CANON CLEMENT MYSTERY SERIES
'Cosy crime with a cutting edge' Sunday Telegraph
'Whodunnit fans can give praise and rejoice' Ian Rankin
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.
* Murder Before Evensong was a Sunday Times No.1 bestseller in paperback in March 2023
Publisher information
- Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
- ISBN: 9781399636377
- Number of pages: 384
- Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 30 mm
- Weight: 269g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
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Disaster
All that could be wrong with a book. Weak narrative. The underling promotion of a life style that cause a distraction to any chance of saving it from the w... READ MORE
must read, fun book.
Fun, easy cosy crime. Some small flaws for me, but didn't spoil my enjoyment. A must-read for any fans of The Appeal and The Thursday Murder Club!
Well written, but too many characters!
I thought this was a well written book and enjoyed the minutiae of clerical life, and occasional theology. However, there were so many characters to introd... READ MORE
Enjoyable
I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying thus book. And also Richard Coles' prose.
A light read, but as I said, an enjoyable one.
Good read
It took some time to get into it, will have to read it again.
Cute, but too many characters
A fabulous premise, let down by sluggish pacing and too many characters who don't seem to do much. A shame, because the author creates an entertaining vill... READ MORE
Promising beginning.
I enjoyed this book and particularly the accuracy about church procedure . I recognised some of the interactions between the parishioners and those on the ... READ MORE
The first outing for the Rector of Champton
And so another investigative rector enters the canon (of literature), in this Reverend Richard Coles' first foray into novel writing. Overall the tale is w... READ MORE
A warm and glorious cosy murder mystery
Murder Before Evensong - The Reverend Richard Coles
Well I was thrilled when my preordered copy of Murder Before Evensong arrived. It’s gorgeous, the endp... READ MORE
Not worth reading!
Think this reverend should give up crime writing.
As boring as a sermon
I had great difficulty getting into this book. Firstly it needs a list of characters and their jobs or roles, too many characters confuses the reader. The ... READ MORE
Cliches and stereotypes
I really tried but sorry to say I found this very dull .
The hero being a single rector who lives with his mother in a very twee example of a 1950’s Engl... READ MORE
Murder Before Evensong
Looked forward to reading this book (paperback version) as RRC is amusing/interesting to listen to whenever I've heard him on the radio . I found the writi... READ MORE
Disappointed before murder
I thought after seeing Rev Cole’s in the jungle and finding him the most charming and entertaining man, I was going to love his book. Unfortunately, as a f... READ MORE
A good cozy mystery
Canon Daniel Clement Book 1
3.5 rounded up
Canon Daniel Clement, rector of Champton St Mary makes me titter from the start as at the end of his sermon he... READ MORE
A clergy murder in the cloisters
Well written murder mystery from this eleqent retired and well known vicar.
Suspense kept until the last few chapters.
Rev Richard srepping outside his comfort zone.
I have to be honest I found it hard to get into at first, but once I got my head around his style of writing it was ok. I had difficulty with the latin phr... READ MORE
Heavenly
Lovers of Richard Osman and Agatha Christie alike with love this gentle and irreverent romp through ecumenical village life. Roll on book 2!
Little underehrlmed
A little disappointed as I was expecting more as press reviews seemed to promise so much. Rather a safe read and did not excite. Sorry to disappoint.
Quirky
Whilst not religious myself this looked like a fun quirky read with a clear religious element with the main character being a rector. Sadly this was quite ... READ MORE
Brilliant read
I started this and couldn't put it down. What a great first book. I loved all the characters .Daniel and his mum make a great pairing and the dogs are a w... READ MORE
A great read, highly recommended
I found this highly entertaining, loved the characters, which woven together in a fictional yet believable English village, and crafted by a writer who mak... READ MORE
A Great New Country Canon
Anglican mystery readers world wide will be enthraled with Canon Clement and his parishioners. The Reverend Richard Coles weaves a fine English country m... READ MORE
should be a bbc sunday evening drama
a cosy read with enough twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. i get the feeling that the rev may well have drawn on his own experience of parish l... READ MORE
Murder Before Evensong - The Reverend Richard Coles
An excellent murder mystery debut, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. At the beginning I started thinking it was a bit too twee, but I was wrong. As the s... READ MORE
Disappointing
I persevered with this book, hoping that it would grow on me, but it never did. Many characters introduced but none stuck in the mind enough to remember w... READ MORE
Murder Before Evensong
3.75 stars rounded up.
There are lots of things I enjoyed about this book but, equally, there are also lots I didn't. I'm going to try and explain without ... READ MORE
Recommended
I should be one of the few human being who read this book and didn't know who is the writer so I had no expectation.
I thought it was going to be a cozy my... READ MORE
Lots of religion, light on detection
Canon Daniel Clement is Rector of Champton, a small village with its own stately home owned by Bernard de Floures. The most exciting thing to happen in Cha... READ MORE
Recommended
I should be one of the few human being who read this book and didn't know who is the writer so I had no expectation.
I thought it was going to be a cozy my... READ MORE
Waiting for the next one
Really enjoyed it, good characters, made me smile with the dialogue, looking forward to the next book.
V.Lloyd
Addictive Light Reading
I pre-ordered a signed copy just because I love The Reverend Richard Cole, I thought it was worth the risk. I was not disappointed, I could not put the boo... READ MORE
Clever cosy crime, new sleuth joins genre
Richard Coles joins the new tranche of authors in the Christie-esque cosy crime genre. We have the usual small quiet village; the Church is plunged into a... READ MORE
Not for me!
This book, written by Reverend Richard Coles and heavily promoted on Tv by the author could be described as a cosy mystery.
It is about a country Rector in... READ MORE
Not my favourite read
I am a fan of murder mysteries, just not this one.
Not only does the averagely intelligent reader need to have an English dictionary by their side but a Fr... READ MORE
Quite a boring book
I have read a few cozy mysteries in my time, quite a few, but this one, this one is not very good at all. It’s full of spelling mistakes and continually go... READ MORE