book cover of Murder Before Evensong
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Murder Before Evensong

(2022)
(The first book in the Canon Clement Mystery series)
A novel by

 
 
Awards
2023 British Book Award Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (nominee)
2023 Paul Torday Memorial Prize (shortlist)

THE INSTANTLY ICONIC NO. 1 BESTSELLER

'Devotees of Midsomer Murders and Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories will feel most at home here'
Guardian
'I've been waiting for a novel with vicars, rude old ladies, murder and sausage dogs... et voila!'
Dawn French
'Cosy crime with a cutting edge'
Telegraph
'Whodunnit fans can give praise and rejoice'
Ian Rankin
'Charming and funny'
Observer
Even better than I knew it would be'
India Knight
'Quintessentially English'
Sunday Express
'An absolute joy'
Adam Kay
''Wry, tongue-in cheek and whimsical'
Daily Mail
'Glorious'
Robert Webb
'Beautifully written, charming, funny, intelligent and mordant too
' Sunday Times
'Pitch perfect'
Philip Pullman
'A cunning whodunnit'
Daily Express

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.


Genre: Cozy Mystery

Praise for this book

"Perfect for those who like their cosy crime to have a cutting edge." - Ben Aaronovitch

"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

"I've been waiting for a novel with vicars, rude old ladies, murder and sausage dogs ... et voila!" - Dawn French

"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

"The Reverend Richard Coles gives us a serpent in England's pastoral Eden - and whodunit fans can give praise and rejoice." - Ian Rankin

"Glorious." - Robert Webb


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