Murder Before Evensong cover art

Murder Before Evensong

Canon Clement, Book 1

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Murder Before Evensong

By: Reverend Richard Coles
Narrated by: Reverend Richard Coles
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About this listen

THE INSTANTLY ICONIC NO. 1 BESTSELLER

'Cosy crime with a cutting edge' Telegraph
'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.

** Richard Coles's Murder Before Evensong was a Sunday Times Number One bestseller in paperback in the first week of March 2023

©2022 Richard Coles (P)2022 Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Amateur Sleuths Cosy Small Town & Rural Fiction Detective Mystery Suspense
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Critic reviews

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

"Whodunnit fans can give praise and rejoice." (Ian Rankin)

"A warm funny joy from start to finish." (Sarah Millican)

What listeners say about Murder Before Evensong

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Implausible motive

The book starts off with a good premise; however, the narration can be tricky to follow - one doesn’t always know which of the characters is speaking - and the pace is awkward.
The conclusion was intriguing, but I found the motive totally implausible!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable story but sometimes tricky to follow

it was a nice story but a little slow to get going, and probably would have been easier to follow with a professional narrator. Rev has a lovely soothing voice, but itnwasnt always clear which character was talking.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

narrator needs to slow down

enjoyed the story very much but would have preferred narrator to take more time over reading

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Charming

Thoroughly enjoyed Rev Coles' book. Delightful characters Hope this is first of a series

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

Enjoyable listen. I brought the book but found it easier to listen instead. The story got a little confusing for me at times with who was who - but Reverend Richard Cole read it really well.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great Listen

I have to be honest I’m a huge fan of Richard Coles stretching back to Erasure (he gets them in, ingeniously). A great story, well told and superbly read. Looking forward to book two.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Slow to start

A bit slow to start but got better as it when on. Enjoyed more as the depth to characters was revealed.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Great story

I enjoyed this but think it would have been better with a diff narrator rather than the author who could have done the various characters more justice, but great story nonetheless.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Too wordy

I felt the characters weren’t strongly enough defined.
It felt a bit confused in the middle. The story was good but it seemed to take too long to get to the conclusion.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the understated dry wit

Unlike other listeners, I loved hearing the author tell his story, with his dry wit and humorous use of cultural and ecclesiastical references. I look forward to the next book.

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