The Biddles are not exactly dysfunctional, but there are clearly tensions within the family unit. Joshua is rebelling against family life, and is cynical about his parents’ religious beliefs. Lydia is more accommodating, but has her own behavioural challenges. Meanwhile Daniel finds his own domestic arrangements subject to change as one of his pet dachshunds is about to deliver an unexpected litter. Daniel finds himself entangled in the investigation, uncovering hidden motives, strained relationships, and dark secrets as he seeks to bring the perpetrator to justice. It'll be interesting to see where a third Champton novel will take us, as it's very hard to see how and where certain relationships will go from the end of A Death In The Parish, but I will enjoy finding out. 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. His new friend loved sport, played sport with the athlete’s unselfconscious grace, radiated a strength and freshness that Daniel found so exhilarating he sometimes wanted to sniff him to be energised by his vapour. Something restless but hidden within him was beginning to stir, seeking to make itself known, a version of himself that he had so neglected it had become a pale stranger. What was it? Masculinity, he thought. Now in his late forties, he knew, in the indistinct but unignorable way of knowing that comes in middle age, that a stranger was turning to face him.

As if that wasn’t enough, the parish has been joined with Upper and Lower Badsaddle; so our hero finds himself uncomfortably in harness with an Evangelical colleague who “would insist on [Bible stories] being true in a way that Daniel did not, could not — and anyway he thought we owed the Bible more than the literal truth that those who thought themselves its defenders allowed”.Detective Sergeant Neil Vanloo and Daniel Clement, rector of Champton parish in England, work together to discover who has committed the latest murder. As one local remarked, Champton and district will soon outdo [Agatha Christies’] village of St Mary Mead for the number of deaths.

Of course, Coles’ own experience as a parish priest shines through here, lending an air of authenticity to the story. He is clearly interested in chronicling village life and the evolving role of the church in society, but despite his evocative descriptions and dry wit when writing about matters close to his heart, the balance between such elements and the murder mystery aspects of the story isn’t quite right. Going forward, it would be beneficial if Daniel’s investigative exploits came more to the fore. If there were any criticisms to be made, it would be that some readers may find the novel's resolution a tad predictable. However, this does not detract from the overall enjoyment of the story. Daniel was as boring and uninteresting as ever, but OMG OMG OMG I did NOT see that gay subplot coming!!! 😭😂 First off, I grew up in a very involved C of E family in exactly the time period these books are set, and so the internecine conflicts that ravaged the church then - Anglican tradition vs Christian evangelism, the ‘problem’ of female priests - are familiar to me and felt quite cosy and comforting in a way that childhood memories do. However, for those readers not as well versed in scripture and church politics, I can well imagine the detail to which Coles goes into could be dull and alienating. How these conflicts eventually play out in the mystery is also a bit much: while I am absolutely no fan of evangelical Christianity, the way it’s presented here is somewhat beyond belief (trying not to give spoilers….!) A Death in the Parish' is the second book in the Canon Clement Mystery series by Richard Coles, a Church of England clergyman.Secondly, a nagging feeling I had had with the first book - that the setting of the books in the late 80s didn’t serve much purpose beyond allowing characters to be horrifyingly non-PC (or, to call it what it is: allowing characters to be racist, misogynistic and homophobic) - was exacerbated further in this second volume. As an aside to this; what editor allowed the consistent capitalisation of Goth - to refer in all instances but one to the subculture not the ancient tribe - but not the capitalisation of Gypsy, a distinct ethnicity recognised by the Equality Act and, not incidentally, one of the groups (alongside Travellers) that, per recent research, suffer the most racism and prejudice in the U.K..

Reluctant as I am to endorse the current mania for signing celebrities up to write novels, I think Coles may be the best of the new writers to have emerged from the “cosy crime” boom – partly, perhaps, because his clout enables him to get away with a pleasingly idiosyncratic, allusive style that his publisher might have tried to smooth away in the work of a common-or-garden author. Sadly, the amalgamation of several parishes and the trials of a new job administering the new "super-parish" has given him a lot of work. Add in his interfering mother, his burgeoning friendship with the local Det Sgt and some mysterious new inhabitants in town and, well Daniel may have to more than a few words with his "Boss". And now I know *when* the stories are set, thanks to the large part played in this novel by Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart by Gene Pitney and Marc Almond, and numerous references to certain then-current events: a date on a letter finally fixes the time-frame of the book's narrative as being between October and November, 1989. At the same time, several events seem to echo more modern times - eg, the eldest son of the Lord of the Manor Bernard de Floures and his Canadian Mohawk fiancée have echoes of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and the positivity that originally greeted their union. Everyone loves Richard Coles – popstar turned vicar, radio personality and Strictly competitor. So it’s no pleasure to have to say that his second crime book – A Death in the Parish, about a clerical detective solving a murder in a Middle England village – isn’t as good as his first. Moreover, the book offers a unique perspective on the role of faith and spirituality in the face of adversity.

Church Times/Canterbury Press:

Rachel isn’t really called Rachel. It is the name Aidan Thomas gave her, after he took her years earlier and imprisoned her in a shed in his garden. Aidan is a serial killer, who has murdered eight women. Rachel is the ninth, and she is determined to stay alive. “Rule number one of staying alive in the shed. He always wins.” But after five years in one room, things are changing, and Rachel needs to be ready for her chance to escape. Clémence Michallon’s debut novel The Quiet Tenant (Abacus) is a nail-biting terror of a read, slowly revealing how Rachel, already a little bit broken, ended up where she did: “When you found me, it didn’t surprise me. Of course you found me. You had to happen to someone, and you happened to me.” And then following as her courage incrementally ratchets up, as, brainwashed and terrified, she starts to eye, and then discard, her opportunities to escape. I finished it at very high speed, heart pounding, absolutely loving it. Richard Coles can have a heavy hand with the similes but is gloriously astute on the details of village interactions Like, in the first part, the SAME SCENE (people gossiping in a post office, abruptly stop talking when the rector/his mom enter, act shifty, but ultimately leads to nothing!) was repeated THRICE! The same scene, mind you.