Murder before Evensong - Richard Coles

2025 will, if nothing else, be the year I caught up with Richard Coles and appreciated what the fuss is about. I remain skeptical about efforts to televise this book, for me the charm lies in the observations, turns of phrase, and mild obsession with stationary. I do not believe these will translate well to screen, but with luck something else good will emerge, sufficiently different to the books to be enjoyed in it's own right.

I'm not at al; comfortable with the description cosy crime for these books either - they might take second place to a frank delight in parish life, and the details are mercifully brief, but it does not change their brutality (a carotid artery severed with a pair of secateurs is not a cosy image at all). I've now read the first 2 Canon Clement mysteries, and the Christmas Novella. Book number 3 is out in paperback mid February. I am a committed fan. 

Anyone who followed Coles on social media over the last while (I can't remember when I started - before lockdown?) will recognise elements of the life he shared there, as well as his gift for sharp observation. It's a smart tactic, as is the 1980s setting. The 80s are safely pre DNA fingerprinting, mobile phones, and social media. Even if you don't really remember the era the films and music keep it close. It's an interesting time socially too - which Coles explores with delicacy.

My feeling after reading Murder Under the Mistletoe was that it had a lot in common with The Diary of a Provincial Lady, Murder Before Evensong confirms that, and earns comparisons to Barbara Pym, Murial Sharp, nods towards G K Chesterton, and maybe Molly Keane too, although Coles is kinder than either Keane, or Sharp, towards his characters. His observations might be forensic but they're not unkind - Audrey, Canon Daniel Clements's mother, is a creation of genius. It's a shame that Maggie Smith will never portray her. 

Meanwhile there's much about the workings of the church, village politics, faith, acceptance of human foibles, and dachshunds. It's delightful, and a very strong start to my reading year.