I really struggled with this at first because there were too many characters. I had to start again and make notes in order to keep up ... when I did this the book was much more enjoyable. I understand that a first of a series needs a lot of background building but if you take other ‘series’ such as Richard Osman, MJ Arlidge, Jeffrey Archer they don’t overcrowd the first instalment but build it slowly.
That said, once I got my head in gear I did enjoy the book and look forward to future books.

I wanted to like this. Richard Coles seems a perfectly nice person and it is marketed to appeal to the Richard Osman reader. However it was so slow - the murder does not occur until a third of the way into the book. There is so much parochial detail that it was like reading the parish news. I can see my mother-in-law, a committed church goer, member of the WI and keen coffee morning attendee, loving this as it is her life. It did not work for me, and I gave up as I realised that I did not care about the identity of the murderer, and perhaps thought that they could do a better job and wipe out many more of the characters at a faster pace.

In his debut novel, Murder Before Evensong, national treasure Richard Coles introduces us to Canon Daniel Clement and his flock, in the sleepy parish of Champton St. Mary. In the vein of Agatha Christie’s St. Mary Mead, Champton is the last place you’d expect a cold-blooded murderer to be plying his (or her) trade, but when a body is found in in Daniel’s church, he finds himself caught up in the investigation.

Most of the problems I have with this novel come down to it being the first in the series. The main point of a first novel should introduce and establish the main characters and a bit of their backstory, but Rev. Coles has gone way beyond this and moved on to all the other characters from the parish. It’s just too much, and if I hadn’t been keeping notes, I wouldn’t have had a clue who was who.

Essentially, Murder Before Evensong is way too complicated to be the first in a series. There are too many characters, too much back-story, too much history. There’s nothing wrong with the story itself, but I just think it would have worked much better further along in the series, when characters had been introduced a bit at a time

I received a free reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Murder Before Evensong” is a smart and subtle whodunnit, reminiscent of "The Murder At The Vicarage" by Agatha Christie, a gentle mystery novel featuring Canon Clement and his dachshunds. The setting is almost that of a Good and Proper Murder in an English Village, featuring a lord of the manor and his family, upstanding church members, some neighbours, including a handful of spinsters, and local characters. There is an uproar brought by a sudden announcement (a subtle matter of a lavatory that needs to be resolved), a murder and a smart policeman assisted by canon Clement (why not a vicar? -need to check this out…), who helps to find a killer. The local history and the local gossip create a vivid background, there are some characters (but not one that immediately stands out as a villain) who can possibly be responsible, and the atmosphere of the book is gentle and slow burning. But despite its faults (in fact I thought some chapter editing wouldn’t go amiss), I enjoyed reading (and listening to) it - as a proper old fashioned mystery novel it works rather well, and l hope that The Reverend Coles finds his writing feet (hands?) in the next instalment. I feel that there is a lot to learn about the good old canon and the policeman indeed.

Richard Coles has written a cracker. It’s a bit twee at times, but as it is so well written, you don’t notice really. The characters are so well developed. Richard’s knowledge of music, church and village people shines through in this book. The little extra details and accurate depictions really add to the story- I could really picture the whole tale.
Great who done it!

I find Richard Coles comes across as a warm, witty and emphatic person so I was keen to read his first novel. A murder mystery which is exactly what you would expect i.e. witty and cosy like Midsummer Murders’ with a bit of extra humour and religious content. There was a slow build up with plenty of characters which, I must confess, I found confusing at times.
Canon Daniel Clements proposes to install a toilet at the back of the church, which would mean removing some of the pews. This doesn’t go down well with some of the parishioners. Then two horrific murders occur and life is turned upside down for the small community. Daniel is our amateur sleuth who manages to solve the crime. To my mind the final reveal is not that convincing.
This is the first book in a planned series and I found it a good start and look forward to future books where Daniel Clements and other characters are further developed. For me 3 and a half stars rounded up to 4.

I will admit I was dubious before starting this as I really did not know what it was going to be like, and I was pleasantly surprised. Coles has written a strong start to this series and I particularly liked the characters. Coles obviously uses what he knows best and expands around it - although in a much more dramatic way!
My only negative is it is not clear what Canon Clement is there for, I thought he would become involved in the investigation but he doesn't. If I am brutally honest I feel Coles needs to work out what the Canon Clement's role is as at the moment, he fades into the background a bit despite being the main character.
On the whole, I found this an entertaining read and I enjoyed the mix of quirky characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orion for an advance copy.

I admire Rev Richard Coles and loved the Communards so of course this jumped straight to the top of my pile.
To be honest I struggled initially to wade through all of the theological terms and religious ceremony minutiae. After the slogfest of the first few chapters, the murder occurred, the pace increased considerably and I whizzed through the rest of the book thoroughly enjoying myself.
Almost as quiet, sleepy and deadly as St Mary Mead, Champton has a chequered past where secrets once buried threaten to resurface years later throwing certain villagers into turmoil. Canon Daniel Clement grows on you, as do most of the village “characters” establishing themselves as a highly probable Sunday night telly series.
I look forward to the next instalment.
I just wish people would stop comparing this to The Thursday Murder Club – yes it’s cosyish crime by a famous person, but other than that it’s totally different.

This is the first novel from the Reverend Richard Coles, in his proposed series of books about Canon Daniel Clement.
Things I liked about this book:
It is a wonderful insight into the life of a country vicar, with all the political shenanigans and the need to keep the peace between warring village factions. It is obvious that it is written from a position of knowledge and I really enjoyed the authenticity of the writing.
The main characters are nicely drawn, with the Clement family in particular standing out. I loved Daniel's mother and her take on life seemed typical for someone in her position.
Things I thought could have been done better:
The plot felt contrived at times, and this was the weakest part of the book.
Some of the other characters were not so vivid, and I sometimes struggled to remember who was who.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this because there is some lovely prose, and I thought it was good for a first attempt. I look forward to reading what Canon Clement gets up to next!

this debut novel from the Rev Richard Coles is an absolutely charming novel. Beautifully written and with a lovely sense of the time it is set, the story does take a while to get going because of the need to set the scene and establish the principal characters, but the plot is fascinating and the revelations surprising. I look forward to more clerical derring do!

This was not a bad cosy mystery, although I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. The setting was well done, and you got a good feel for the characters, their relationships with other village members, as well as the simmering undercurrents based around their own interests. The flower arrangers were particularly well realised.. The murder mystery wasn't bad either, I think my problem was I felt there was no real spark to the story telling. It was very slow to get going, and throughout, there were several patches within the story that just dragged. I can think of several library users who will enjoy this, however, it just didn't work for me.

Murder Before Evensong is set in the village of Champton, a quiet little hamlet in the English countryside. I quite liked the idea of a cosy murder mystery that this book promises, but I did find it could’ve done with a less detailed cast of characters. Obviously the Rector stood out, but other than himself and his mother Audrey, the list was just endless. I realise that this is the first in a series of Cannon Clement mysteries and so I imagine that the scene is being set here for future books. Maybe Champton and it’s inhabitants will grow on me in the same vein as Miss Marple or Midsomer etc. but for me this first book fell short of the mark. Too many people and a little too much detail regarding church services. For me this is a 3⭐️Story. Many thanks to #NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book #Murderafterevensong.

I have previously enjoyed Richard Coles non fiction books so was really looking forward to reading this, the first in a series of cosy murder mysteries featuring Cannon Daniel Clement, the Rector of Champton who turns to sleuthing when a murder takes place in the village. For those who enjoy slow paced, cosy murder mysteries I'm sure this would be an enjoyable read. Sadly I found it to be far too slow paced, it was overly descriptive and so many characters are introduced early on in the book that I had to keep re reading sections to check who was who. Coles is, as you would expect, excellent at the ecclesiastical details and bringing to life a small community in the late 1980s.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Canon Daniel Clement is the Rector of Champton for the past eight years. He lives with his eldery spitfire of a mother, Audrey, and his two dachshunds, Cosmo and Hilda, and he had his brother, Hugo, popping in and out of his life.

Life in Champton is a typical, country village in the mid-1980s. But when Daniel suggests installing a lavatory in the church, the parish is unexpected divided. Then things take a turn when the Anthony Bowness – cousin of Bernard de Floures, patron of Champton – is found dead in the church, stabbed in the neck by a pair of secateurs, the village is close to fracturing. As the Police begin to investigate, Daniel must try to keep his community together and try and figure out who the killer is for who knows how many more will die before the truth comes out…

Am going to be complete honest, I was kinda expecting more from this.

I’m not saying that this is bad – it wasn’t – but there are too many niggles here for me to enjoy this.

Pacing is one issue that I’m only thinking of now as I’m trying. It took its leisurely time. I get why – it’s trying to be The Thursday Murder Club, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency or Murder At the Vicarage. An almost gentle, cosy murder mystery. But the pace is quite slow, and this feels more like a diary of a country parish rather than a murder mystery.

Another issues is characters. So many characters are thrown at the reader that I completely lost track of who’s who and, when the bodies did begin to pile up, I didn’t care on who died because I didn’t know who’s who and they’re connection to each other.

I listened to this via audiobook (read by the author, Richard Coles) and, while I liked his gentle and slightly soothing tones, the author didn’t really do much on making characters voices different. They all sounded the same to me, and I don’t think that helped my previous point.

I do want to say that I was listening to while in the depth of a reading slump, so I might be a bit more harsh/unkind to it because it feels like most books/audiobooks I’ve listened for the past month or so has taken a lot of effect. But I must have liked it enough through all my nitpicking as I finished and went “ok, that wasn’t so bad. There’s potential, but it’s just wasn’t my cup of tea.”

And I think that’s the thing here. I think this series has potential, but things got in its way. If I decide to continue with the series (I’m not sure I will. Will have to see what book 2 is about and have a think about it), the pacing needs to be tighten and maybe less characters should be thrown at the reader, as I want to try and attempt to figure out who the killer is…

A very gentle country murder mystery, if there is such a thing. The whole village is under suspicion and the local vicar seems to be the eyes and ears. I, naively hadn't expected there to be quite so much emphasis on the ecclesiastical side of things, which I found to be a little overwhelming. However, the characters were interesting and the plot line intriguing. An easy summer read

Canon Daniel Clement is happy in his parish. His mother keeps him company & his parishioners keep him busy. In efforts to make the church more comfortable for all, he causes consternation when he mentions his plans to install a lavatory at the back of the church . The objections to this, split his congregation for a variety of reasons. However this becomes a lesser concern when the cousin of the Lord of the manor is found dead- murdered by a blow from secateurs. The police arrive & the quiet village is thrown into confusion especially when there is another violent death. Daniel sets out to solve the mystery.

This is a wonderful cosy mystery, full of interesting & quirky characters. I'm already looking forward to the next in the series. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Something wonderfully a little old fashioned for the setting of this story. Canon Daniel Clement is at the heart of his community in a parish still looked over by the patron of Champton house Lord de Floures. The ladies of the Flower guild will fight to the death over a new toilet in the church. This will soon become a scene of murder. A first of a new series with the familiarity of a Sunday evening Agatha Christie mystery. Daniel is a personable character who you will wish to follow into the next story.
I was given an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Now, who this author Richard Coles??............. He is only the ex Communards musician from good old 80's. One of the best loved bands that was out there back in my day. So when I saw this book I just had to find some time to open my kindle and read it. WoW this book did not disappoint! I loved it!

Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles this is the first book in the brilliant Canon Daniel Clement series and I was gripped from the beginning till the end. This book is a great cosy crime mystery novel I can not wait for his second book.

I highly recommend this book.

Big thank you to NetGalley and especially to Orion for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review

For a debut novel this was a good read. The plot was well written with lots of twists and turns. Some of the characters were a little complicated which made it hard to follow. The book started a little slow but i enjoyed the story and would recommend to friends.

I’m sure there is a genre term for a crime novel where the crime is not the crux of the book – Caroline Graham was the master of this – slowly going through the everyday affairs of a small community, building ideas and impressions of the characters, ultimately leading the reader to an understanding of the murderer and their motives, rather than it being a puzzle to solve or resorting to a device or trick. Reverend Richard Coles is very much in this mould: smart, erudite and very well read and inclined to take us on a trip around the parish in which the novel is set, to get to know the parishioners, one of which happens to be the murderer…

The novel appears to be set around 1988, and it would seem that the main character, Daniel, if not based on the author, certainly draws on his experiences. Indeed, Daniel could very well have been living the life Richard Coles had been destined to follow, had he not decided to put on an alternative ‘cassock of chronography’ or ‘tippet of time’ by doing the sex and drugs and rock’n’roll thing for a while.

'Murder Before Evensong' is entertaining and frequently funny but is not nearly as silly as one might first think, particularly based on the cover design. There is genuine plot here and a very believable back story. We also get glimpses into the life and experiences of an Anglican priest, which is in itself fascinating and unusual in crime (or any) fiction. It is refreshing to read about normal Christians and normal clergy, rather than the ill-informed baseless stereotypes we usually come across in fiction. Indeed, ‘normal’ is quite unusual for a such a novel.