Murder before Evensong : a Canon Clement mystery

THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE REVEREND RICHARD COLES' CANON CELEMENT MYSTERY SERIES'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'DAILY TELEGRAPH'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'OBSERVER, Thriller of the Month 'Whodunnit fans can give praise and rejoice'IAN RANKIN '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' DAILY EXPRESS 'A warm funny joy from start to finish'SARAH MILLICAN'Cosy crime with a cutting edge'SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'You'll want to take a front row pew in Champton while this delicious series unfolds' JANICE HALLETT'A good old page-turner with brilliantly drawn characters... and dachshunds so real you can almost smell them'SAGA, Book of the Month 'An absolute joy from cover to cover - funny, clever and wonderfully plotted.

Praise be!' ADAM KAY 'Coles' murderous take on a quintessentially English parish makes for a likeable, cosy crime caper'SUNDAY EXPRESS '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.

Only Richard Coles could pull this off so joyfully and with such style'DAMIAN BARR 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. 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. And then Anthony Bowness - cousin to Bernard de Floures, patron of Champton - is found dead at the back of the church, stabbed in the neck with a pair of secateurs. As the police moves in and the bodies start piling up, Daniel is the only one who can try and keep his fractured community together... and catch a killer.