Weidenfeld Nicolson A Death in the Parish.

Canon Clement #2

by Richard Coles

It's been a few months since murder tore apart the community of Champton apart.
As Canon Daniel Clement tries to steady his flock, the parish is joined with Upper and Lower Badsaddle, bringing a new tide of unwanted change.
But church politics soon become the least of Daniel's problems. His mother - headstrong, fearless Audrey - is obviously up to something, something she is determined to keep from him. And she is not the only one.
And then all hell breaks loose when murder returns to Champton in the form of a shocking ritualistic killing...

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Murder Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Audiobook, Religion

401 pages, Paperback

First published June 8, 2023

About the author

The Reverend Richard Coles (born 26 March 1962) is a Church of England priest, broadcaster, writer and musician. Richard Coles was born in Northampton, England and educated at the independent Wellingborough School (where he was a choirboy)and at the South Warwickshire College of Further Education, Department of Drama and the Liberal Arts. He is known for having been the multi-instrumentalist who partnered Jimmy Somerville in the 1980s band The Communards, which achieved three Top Ten hits. He later attended King's College London where he studied theology from 1990. Richard Coles co-presents Saturday Live on BBCR4. In January 2011 The Reverend Richard Coles was appointed as the parish priest of St Mary the Virgin, Finedon in the Diocese of Peterborough.

Reviews

[Emma.catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been 2 years since I read the first book in this series - Murder before evensong - and while I didn’t love it, I decided it was time to give the sequel a go…

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” 🌍 🙏🏼 🕊️
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭

The story begins a few months after the previous murder that tore the Champton community apart. Vicar, Daniel Clement, attempts to steady his flock, post murder. Meanwhile, the parish is joined with Upper and Lower Badsaddle, bringing a new, unwanted change. From the moment, Daniel and Chris, the new arrival, meet it is clear they don’t see eye to eye on theological matters.

“We may think differently about these matters, naturally, but remember our charge: to love and serve the people, caring alike for young and old, strong and weal, rich and poor. To preach, to declare God’s forgiveness to penitent sinners, to pronounce God’s blessing.” 🤲🏼

However, church politics soon become the least of Daniel’s problems…his mother, Audrey, is up to no good. She is a headstrong woman and is determined to keep something from him. But what?

Finally, all hell breaks loose when murder returns to Champton, this time in the form of a shocking ritualistic killing...

Whilst you would expect this murder to come front and centre, considering it is a murder mystery, it suddenly appears to take a backseat to several other storylines that are apparently unrelated. These matters include the death of an elderly lady (not suspicious), a pregnant dachshund (I have to say I did love the addition of the dachshunds; Cosmo and Hilda), Audrey’s sudden secrecy, and a very unusual scene regarding the local aristocratics (the de Floures). I found it hard to keep up with the vast number of characters, and the roles they played in the story.

However, I think the key to enjoying this book is not necessarily to see it as a murder mystery but to focus more on the story of this community as a whole. There is a lot of different things going on, most of which are unrelated, but isn’t that what happens in a community? Once I stepped back, and approached the book as a whole, I found it more enjoyable. And somehow, everything came together with an epic ending…🧐 Let’s just say I am now looking forward to reading the final book in this trilogy 📚😍💖🌟

‘Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.’ 📖🕊️🥰

🌟🌟🌟🌟

[Fiona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Murder Before Evensong and had been looking forward to reading the sequel. Sadly, it didn’t live up to expectations at all. If you want endless descriptions of the work of a Church of England canon, reflections on that work and the difficulties sometimes attached to it, and in jokes at the expense of clergy and congregation (see below), this is for you. If you enjoy long descriptions of scenarios that have nothing to do with the actual storyline, ie solving a murder (I thought), and have the patience not to mind that we’re not getting on with the crime solving, this is for you. It’s not for me! If there’s a third Canon Clements novel, I won’t be reading it. I’ve given up at p266 which is 63% on my Kindle app and more than I wish I’d bothered reading.

The Church of England website tells me that in 2021, 966,000 people regularly worshipped in their churches in England. That’s 1.7% of the population of England. These are very niche jokes indeed!

[Helena Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that a story written by a Reverent and featuring a Canon as the main character might be a cozy mystery. Which just goes to show how dangerous it is to assume anything.

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.

And then, the mystery appears to take a backseat as the story focuses on other, apparently unrelated (both to the murder and to each other) matters. There’s the (not-suspicious) death of an elderly lady and the question why so many seem to have an interest in her cameo brooch. There’s Daniel’s mother Audrey, and her sudden penchant for secrecy. And of course, there is the usual interaction with the local aristocrats, the de Floures.

There are quite a few moments to make you smile too. Daniel attending a football match with Neil Vanloo, the local detective sergeant, and the uproar Daniel causes. There's an unexpected pregnancy, Or Daniel’s visit to a record store. On the heavier side, the book is also rather heavy on religious thought, theory, and philosophy. Maybe that’s just what a reader should expect from a book written by and featuring a priest. And I have to admit that at least some of it was very relevant to the mystery. But I can’t deny that on one or two occasions my eyes glazed over and my mind wandered.

I was about two-thirds through the book when I figured out both the murder and the motive, well ahead of the conclusion being reached on the page, for a change. That’s not a complaint, though. If nothing else, it means that the murder ‘made sense’ and the author played fair with the reader.

There is quite a bit of action and drama before Daniel sees the light and explains everything in a drawing room scene reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s Poirot. (Also, not a complaint.) Since the village setting and interactions have Miss Marple vibes, the whole set-up feels a little like a homage to the Queen of Crime.

And then it ends on a surprising and possibly a little disappointing (at least for me, and I assume the character involved) note. I wouldn’t call it a cliff-hanger by any stretch of the imagination, but it does make me curious about book 3.

Long story short: Like Murder before Evensong (Canon Clement #1), A Death in the Parish is a solid mystery featuring a fascinating cast of characters and a satisfying conclusion.

[Louise Bath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two books in, and the Reverend Richard Coles' Champton is now firmly on my list of literary places where I enjoy spending time.

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. But it's a date on a letter that 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.

A Death In The Parish contains Evangelical Christians, Goths, dachshund puppies, a mortifying misunderstanding, mediumship, and arson. Problems begin when Daniel Clement becomes involved with a sternly evangelical new co-priest and is drawn into issues surrounding the man's wife and two teenage children. Matters take a turn for the even worse when Daniel and his formidable mother Audrey become co-executors for a local woman's will: a woman with a big, dark secret. And then a teenager is found murdered, his body and its placement bearing all the signs of a ritualistic killing.

As before, there are lots of references to Church of England hierarchy, politics, ritual, administration, dogma, and hymns, along with lots of Biblical scripture. Coles also includes a great deal of information about what seem to be very arcane aspects of CofE belief, liturgy, and feast days. It's the kind of Christianity I like most: he makes it sound incredibly mystical and ritualistic, with talk of titles that could have come straight out of a fantasy novel: The Covenant Code, The Book of The Covenant, and so on.

Oh, and the appalling Tailbys finally receive their much-deserved comeuppance.

The novel contains a wealth of detail regarding village life, the minutiae of a canon's life, and the world of the late 1980. There are references to long-gone but still fondly remembered brands: Bandit biscuits, Jaeger clothes, once-familiar manual typewriter brands, United Biscuits, Lift, and oh, so much more. It's just wonderful: there's so much that will bring back fond memories for those of us of a similar vintage to the Reverend Richard.

Yet when a character muses at one point whether Champton is in danger of turning into St Mary Meade, it's a pertinent question. For all that A Death In The Parish is set in 1989, Champton and its inhabitants - including Daniel himself - seem to be in a time-warp. This book reads very much like something set somewhere between the end of the war and the early 60s - a B&W Ealing film, even, which, for me, is highly appealing.

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.

A deliciously well-packed read.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is ok, the characters are made for TV and it is terribly British. But there is far to much theology and bible quotations and verse after verse of hymns. Not for me.

[Janet Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thoughts on A Death In the Parish are quite muddled. I enjoyed the first in the series and started this second full of confidence that I’d feel the same again. And yet… there was a lot I felt uncomfortable about (some of which was also an issue in the first book, some of which was new).

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….!)

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..

Finally (and with a mild spoiler warning) the frankly weird friendship between Daniel and the police detective made for strange enough reading, without the queer-baiting about-turn at the end.

There were still things I enjoyed in the book, not least the magnificent Audrey and several other well drawn background characters (the creepy couple who befriend elderly widows were particularly memorable), but overall as a reading experience it left me feeling unsatisfied and frustrated.

[Jean Clarkson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very preachy novel and Richard Coles tries to let us all know how clever he is.
Very boring in parts but good coverage of dogs.

[Brian Clegg · Rating 5 out of 5]

In reviewing the first of Richard Coles' murder mysteries, Murder before Evensong, I remarked 'I just hope that with practice Coles can make the detective aspect more engaging'. He doesn't. In fact, although a murder is a thread running through this book, it's almost incidental - yet I didn't care because the murder mystery aspect is not really the point.

A Death in the Parish gives us two things that Coles does brilliantly: exploring the nature of British village life in the 1980s, when the country was going through a significant culture change as the old respect for authority was dying out, and giving us a novel with a realistic vicar as a central character, as opposed to the clumsy stereotypes we usually seen in fiction.
I don't know if this was Coles' conscious intent, but the 'cosy murder' part feels like little more than a way to get more readers, because there is far less of a market for a novel about the realities of village life and the Church of England. And as my personal fictional matter is largely limited to police procedurals, science fiction and fantasy, I would be unlikely to pick up such a book. But I'm so glad I did.

I've lived in a village off and on through my life, and Coles really gets into the spirit of such a place with both its petty playing off of characters against each other and its unmatched sense of community and continuity, however faded it might be. I'm also very familiar with the Church of England (Anglican/Episcopalian for those who haven't come across it), an institution that may be dying, but that is so central to the English cultural heritage.

As a retired vicar, Coles is ideally placed to understand the niceties of church politics - particularly when he pits his traditionalist, Anglo-catholic central character against a colleague whose ideas are far too evangelical and Bible-literalist for his liking.

You don't expect cosy murder mysteries to be un-put-downable, but I rushed through this book, soaking up the atmosphere and revelling in Coles' understanding of the sense of place and the impact on institutions of culture change. The cover quote saying 'Best of the new cosy crime writers' totally misses the point. It's very average crime writing, but it's an excellent novel.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A huge improvement on the first outing for Coles' ecclesiastical hero, Daniel Clement. This time, Coles does not reveal the identity of the victim immediately (the previous body was mentioned on the dust jacket) and the body is discovered relatively swiftly. The usual array of stock characters of such a genre, but nevertheless, this outing for Canon Clement, his mother Audrey, lord of the manor Bernard is enjoyable. Daniel encounters a neighbouring cleric who could not be more different; no dog collar, a dysfunctional family and rather stereotypical VW camper van. DS Neil also makes another appearance and their final scene is almost unbearably poignant.

Excellent.

[Jem · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did I read the same book as everyone else??

This was incredibly slow and unsatisfactory. The final scene was a desperate ploy to hook readers in for another book, but it just left me feeling disappointed.

In a word: tedious.

[Rohase Piercy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Coles is really getting into his stride with this second in the series featuring loveable cleric Canon Daniel Clement, his feisty mother Audrey, and the good (and not so good) people of the parish of Champton - now joined with neighbouring Upper and Lower Badsaddle and throwing High Church Daniel into conflict with evangelical new priest, Rev Chris Biddle.
It's an absolute joy for those of us familiar with a bit of theology and Church dogma, but still very readable as a cosy murder mystery for those that aren't. Set in the 1980s, before the ordination of women in the Church of England, it projects an aura of rural conservatism onto a very disturbing and bizarre sequence of events, and the effect is both credible and captivating.
We get to find out a bit more about lovely Daniel Clement as he struggles to cope with yet another major upheaval in his parish, all the while doing battle with an emotional upheaval of his own. The ending is sad, but sets the scene for more developments, and there are sausage dogs having puppies to take the edge off of all the raw emotion flying about - what's not to like? Can't wait for the next in the series!

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another mystery to solve for Daniel Clement, rector of Champton. There are several newcomers to the village, and Daniel has to cope with his expanded parish, his mother Audrey, a pregnant dachshund, an evangelistic new Vicar, and his tentative friendship with local policeman Neil. And of course it isn’t long before he also has to investigate another murder. This is enjoyable story with some likeable characters, though as a mystery I didn’t find it as complex as the first one, it wasn’t very difficult to guess the murderer or the motive. The ending of the book though was a shock,not at all what I was expecting. Poor Daniel, what next for him I wonder? I look forward to finding out.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugely enjoyable. Characters really developing from the first book.....and a few surprises along the way!

[Paula Holland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely better than book 1 and the main characters are just so cozy - will give book 3 a go!

[H · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2

[Katrin V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book were charming and wonderfully accurate, but other parts were horribly disturbing. Spoiler alert: As someone who believes in the mystery and power of Christ's atoning sacrifice, I found it troubling to treat the occult so lightly while extrapolating from genuine doctrinal differences to making maniacal fundamentalist murderer. I will not be tempted to read more from Mr. Coles.

[David Hedges · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as the first one. I HATED the end. Talk about leading us up the garden path! The murder motive was unbelievable, and the unutterable sadness of the book just got me down. HIowever, it was still a page turner...

[Sarah Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable book, both for the puzzle and the people

[Julia bickerstaff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to Rev Richard Coles narration and it’s absolutely brilliant. Good story with many layers. Enjoyed it much more than book one. Can’t wait for book 3!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Looking forward to the next :)

[Dasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly fun mystery novel and one on brand for the young religious historian (AKA me). Should have probably read the first book...first.

[ghostly_bookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

CAWPILE 5.57
3 STARS

Read as part of the Orilium Autumn Equinox Readathon September 2025.
The prompt was to give an author a second chance- I read the first in this series earlier this year and despite really enjoying Rev. Richard Coles on TV I just didn't gel with the first book in this series.
I decided to pick the sequel, firstly because I own the first three on my kindle and secondly, because I recently saw that this series was being given a TV adaptation which is due to be shown soon.
While I read this in a short space of time, I can't lie and say that I was compelled by it, I genuinely despise the main characters mother and not even the prospect of puppies could lift this out of a pit of boredom and annoyance.
I'd love to read something different, fictional again, from the author to be able to accurately gauge whether it's the writing or whether I just really don't like these characters.
I will read #3 as I already own it but I think that will be my end with this series.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Death in the Parish is the second book in the Canon Clement Mystery series. As in it's predecessor, this book sees Canon Clement help the police in a murder investigation. The victim is a teenage boy, and the murder has all the hallmarks of a ritual killing.
Canon Clement is reminiscent of Chesterson's Father Brown, but whereas Father Brown's mysteries could be described as cosy, Canon Clement's are anything but.
I enjoyed this book, and feel that Richard Coles has found his groove. I sincerely hope we will be meeting Canon Daniel Clement, and his mother Audrey, again.

[Mandy Cleworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another thoroughly enjoyable read.
I find Daniel to be such a thoughtful, compassionate character, it’s nice that he is offset slightly by his more down to earth gossipy mum. And of course who doesn’t love the adventures of Hilda and Cosmo!!
I love that Daniel brings humanity to his religious calling and that he truly does not judge. Being set in the late 80’s there is still a lot of ‘big house’ tradition that is handled in a very non preachy way.
The murder seems more of a sideline in this book as it doesn’t occur until about a third of the way in. It feels like this book is more about the battle within religion of those who take a more liberal view and those that take a strict fundamental view. The ending was not what I was expecting and I think Richard Coles was having a bit of fun with the reader at his own expense here!

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with book 1 in the series I enjoyed the setting, the style of writing, the references to the church services and the crime story, although it was a sad story.

[Georgia Oldd · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Anna Catharina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 Sterne

[Carol Sheppard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than the first but it was probably as I was more familiar with the characters this time. I liked the budding romance but the end spoilt it all for me.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

An enjoyable mystery, with engaging characters and humorous insight into human nature. I didn’t realise this was the second in a series and was a little irritated by references to incidents in an earlier book, but all in all a thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful