A Death in the Parish by The Reverend Richard Coles
A Death in the Parish by The Reverend Richard Coles is the sequel to Murder Before Evensong, which I read recently. A Death in the Parish was published in June and I picked it up in Sainsbury’s for £10 for the hardback. I enjoyed Murder Before Evensong, but I liked A Death in the Parish more!
The story takes place just a few months on from the events of Murder Before Evensong. It starts with the introduction of a new family to the area – the Biddles. Chris Biddle is the new associate vicar of Lower and Upper Badsaddle, who will be working closely with Canon Daniel Clement. He arrives in the area with his wife, Sally, and teenage children, Josh and Lydia.
Chris’s Christianity is different from Daniel’s and Josh and Lydia don’t seem too happy with their new life. Although Lydia bonds with Daniel over his dachshunds, Cosmo and Hilda.
It’s not long before the village experiences another gruesome murder and Daniel is once again forced to look at his parishioners for answers.
Most of the villagers from Murder Before Evensong are back (the ones who made it through alive at any rate!). There are also a few new characters – the owner of the dress shop, an elderly lady on her deathbed and the people who may or may not have her best interests at heart. Daniel also has a new friend, in the form of DS Neil Vanloo, who investigated the first series of murders. This friendship means Daniel experiences things he’s never experienced before – like his first football match, which he finds very confusing.
I’m not a Christian, but I love the way Daniel’s own brand of open and welcoming Christianity runs through the story. There’s lots of gentle humour and lots of observations of English village life in the late 1980s.
If you enjoy cosy crime, you will love A Death in the Parish. And if you’ve always been sceptical about reading crime books, cosy crime is a great way to dip your toe into the genre. Can you read A Death in the Parish as a standalone novel? You can, but as there is currently only one other book in the series, you might as well read Murder Before Evensong first! Canon Clement book 3 will be out in 2024.
I’ve just downloaded the first book to listen to, I really enjoyed Black Cake, I’m just glad I didn’t read the bits that made me cry while I was on the train.
Hopefully you will enjoy it. It’s certainly lighter than Black Cake! I’m glad you liked it, it’s definitely an emotional read.
I like the sound of this. Cozy mysteries are a great genre
They are, they’re great fun! I’ve even lent the first book to my mum, who would never read a thriller as they’re too dark.
This looks like a great read! I wish I had time to read all the things I want to, and this would definitely go on my list!
It is well worth a read. I know what you mean about wishing you had time to read everything, I’m just the same!
This book underlines the contrast between gentle middle of the road Christianity and the rather earnest conservative evangelity. when the latter “back to the Bible” is
carried out literally. The Bible has so much Old Testament practices which a demented
Evangelical might take seriously so you may say it is not totally trustworthy.
Daniel is a priest who gently preaches New Testament theology with its creaky C of E
language.It is a cosyand comforting thing although challenging to agnostic secularists.