Richard Coles (1) (1962–)

Canon Daniel Clement finds a body in the church as he reads the evening prayers. But why would anyone want to kill a harmless soul like Baron De Floures's estate archivist?

Apart from a vague feeling that Daniel's age didn't really match up with what we were told about his childhood, I didn't really catch on till quite far into the book that it was actually set in the late 1980s. I liked the setting, the characters, and the humour but didn't really think the solution was very satisfactory. I'll read the next one but I'm not sure if I'll continue after that.… (mer)

I really enjoyed the previous Daniel Clement book so I was very much looking forward to reading the second installment. I can't quite put my finger on why but A Death in the Parish didn't feel the same. Something was out of harmony, it felt forced; not unlike Daniels relationship with his neighbouring vicar Chris.

The story follows another tragic death in the quiet rural community, with all the expected false trails, misdirection and plot twists one would expect. There are times when you wonder why certain aspects have been included (correspondance mediumship for one). Overall I felt the sub plots possibly represented Richard Coles own differences with the CofE rather than were required by the narrative.… (mer)