A Death in the Parish by Richard Coles

 

#2 Canon Clement Mystery

432 pages

Publisher: W & N

Publishing date: June 8^th, 2023

 

Blurb

It's been a few months since murder tore apart the community of Champton apart.

As Canon Daniel Clement tries to steady his flock, the parish is joined with Upper and Lower Badsaddle, bringing a new tide of unwanted change.

But church politics soon become the least of Daniel's problems. His mother - headstrong, fearless Audrey - is obviously up to something, something she is determined to keep from him. and she is not the only one.

And then all hell breaks loose when murder returns to Champton in the form of a shocking ritualistic killing...

 

Review

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that a story written by a Reverent and featuring a Canon as the main character might be a cozy mystery. Which just goes to show how dangerous it is to assume anything.

Not to be too mysterious about it, the murder victim in this book is a teenage boy, killed on an altar in what appears to be a ritualistic manner. He is the son of Richard’s new colleague after the parish boundaries have been altered. From the moment they first meet it is clear that Daniel, our Canon, and Chris, the new arrival don’t see eye to eye when it comes to theological matters. Why anybody would want to kill his teenage son though, is a complete mystery.

And then, the mystery appears to take a backseat as the story focuses on other, apparently unrelated (both to the murder and to each other) matters. There’s the (not-suspicious) death of an elderly lady and the question why so many seem to have an interest in her cameo brooch. There’s Daniel’s mother Audrey, and her sudden penchant for secrecy. And of course, there is the usual interaction with the local aristocrats, the de Floures.

There are quite a few moments to make you smile too. Daniel attending a football match with Neil Vanloo, the local detective sergeant, and the uproar Daniel causes. There's an unexpected pregnancy, Or Daniel’s visit to a record store. On the heavier side, the book is also rather heavy on religious thought, theory, and philosophy. Maybe that’s just what a reader should expect from a book written by and featuring a priest. And I have to admit that at least some of it was very relevant to the mystery. But I can’t deny that on one or two occasions my eyes glazed over and my mind wandered.

I was about two-thirds through the book when I figured out both the murder and the motive, well ahead of the conclusion being reached on the page, for a change. That’s not a complaint, though. If nothing else, it means that the murder ‘made sense’ and the author played fair with the reader.

There is quite a bit of action and drama before Daniel sees the light and explains everything in a drawing room scene reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s Poirot. (Also, not a complaint.) Since the village setting and interactions have Miss Marple vibes, the whole set-up feels a little like a homage to the Queen of Crime.

And then it ends on a surprising and possibly a little disappointing (at least for me, and I assume the character involved) note. I wouldn’t call it a cliff-hanger by any stretch of the imagination, but it does make me curious about book 3.

Long story short: Like Murder before Evensong (Canon Clement #1), A Death in the Parish is a solid mystery featuring a fascinating cast of characters and a satisfying conclusion.