The Devil in Bellminster

Reverend Tuckworth #1

by David Holland

It is 1833, and you are invited to enter the quaint, quiet world of Bellminster, a pretty cathedral town in the English countryside with secrets and shadows around every corner.

Venture into a world of petty politics and malicious gossip, a world of surprises and betrayals, a world held together by the suffering soul of a simple man - the good Reverend Tuckworth. Someone is preying on the good people of Bellminster, and only their vicar can save them. But Tuckworth has a dark secret of his own, a deadly secret, a secret he must keep hidden from from his loving daughter, Lucy; from the rash young painter Raphael Amaldi; from the supercilious rector, Mr. Mortimer; from Detective Inspector Myles of London; and most of all, from the murderer himself.

Join the vicar as he sifts through the stones of Bellminster Cathedral, drawing from its cold heart the secrets behind the string of grisly murders that is plaguing this picturesque little town.

The Devil runs free in Bellminster, and only Tuckworth can stop him.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

240 pages, Hardcover

First published March 13, 2002

Reviews

[Ellen McCann Sfecla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boo. Couldn't even get halfway through it.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

The devil walks among you, for the devil is of your own making, a judgment upon you all, a terrible and dreadful chastisement!

The Devil in Bellminster (2002) by David Holland is a historical mystery novel set in the early 19th century English countryside. It takes place in the cathedral town of Bellminster. The town seems to be a quiet little world all to itself in the country, but even in the early 1800s there are petty little games of politics to be played and the lives of the innocent will be weighed against the sins of the guilty. A dark force has come among the people of the town--someone who believes they have a calling to weed out the sinful tares among the wheat. The first victim to be discovered is the sexton of the Cathedral--who would dare to kill one of God's servants? But Will Sharpton was no saint, often coming to work drunk, and perhaps the sin of drunkeness was what must be weeded out. More deaths follow and panic begins to take over the sleepy little town.

The local lord has called in a Bow Street Runner from London, but Detective Inspector Myles seems more intent on finding someone (anyone) to pin the murder on and quiet the hysteria. He views the truth as a very elastic commodity. The Reverend Tuckworth, lately the town's vicar and soon to be the Dean of Bellminster, seems to be all that stands between the good people of the town and the evil descending upon them. He is also the last hope of Adam Black, the developmentally backward young man that Myles has chosen for his scapegoat. If the good reverend cannot plumb the secrets of the true villain, an innocent man will hang. But Tuckworth has a secret of his own--a secret that he can't afford anyone to know. And it may be difficult to keep the secret in the face of the evil he must confront.

This is a fairly solid mystery. I won't say historical mystery because therein lies my dilemma. Despite various descriptions, particularly about superstitions and religious beliefs, that were intended to make the reader believe they were in early 19th C England, there was very little that actually did make me believe it was so. It felt very much like this story could have been taking place at just about any time. And I spent way more time than necessary puzzling over the amount of a bribe mentioned in the novel--I just couldn't honestly believe that someone would have paid a gossipy old woman (probably intended to be viewed as a "witch" of sorts) four pounds during that time period for false testimony and then have her offered twice the amount to actually tell the truth (which she mysteriously turns down). I don't see a Bow Street Runner having that kind of money to throw around. Maybe I'm misjudging amounts--but Sherlock Holmes in the Victorian era was pretty generous when he paid for information and I can't remember him ever paying more than a sovereign--two at the most.

Tuckworth is an interesting character--particularly as the reader watches his struggle with his secret and his growing interest in the detecting occupation. He gets involved for all the right reasons--to make sure that justice is served and not just placated. It was very satisfying watching him learn to have faith in humanity even as he confronts the evil that men do.

I will say that the culprit should have been more obvious to me given the circumstances surrounding the murders and trends in the mystery field when religious beliefs seem to play a major role. I was hung up by the fact that I really wanted a certain person to be the murderer and it was possible...though not as likely, I admit. Just goes to show that one should not allow prejudice to dictate one's detecting.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Michael Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1830s was when what we now think of as “modern” Britain first came together, a mix of reform on one hand and rapacious capitalism on the other. Bellminster is a fictitious small city in the Midlands with both an ancient, deeply affecting cathedral and a new mill turning out the cheapest cloth possible at the cheapest wages possible. Rev. Tuckworth, the vicar, is retiring after some thirty years of service to the community, but he’s secretly glad to be going because he’s largely lost his faith (I won’t reveal why). Then a particularly brutal murder takes place and becomes a “wonder” for quiet Bellminster. But then there’s another murder, and another. Pretty soon, Detective Inspector Myles is sent up from London (from Bow Street, not Scotland Yard, not yet), but his interpretation of how he can best do his job is jarring. Justice doesn’t enter into it, nor very much truth, either. Tuckworth finds himself drawn more and more deeply, and very reluctantly, into the investigation -- but he’s not a “Father Brown” sort of amateur sleuth. He’s just an aging priest who’s trying to look after his flock, and especially his somewhat naive daughter. Holland has a real ear for proto-Victorian dialogue and (though he tends to wax over-lyrical in describing clouds and forests and such) and he’s obviously very knowledgeable about the period. This is one of the best mystery series debuts I’ve read in quite some time.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

The subtitle to this book is an unlikely mystery. Unlikely meaning dubious about explains it. The vicar detective who has lost his faith (no Father Brown) and a serial killer with no history or motivation beyond hearing voices from God (and who I recognized the first time he was introduced as a character). Overall, a historical fiction whose main characters have sensibilities too like those of modern day and a mystery that is not all that mysterious. Do not waste your time.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is set in the mid-1800s but had I not known that from the book jacket, I would have thought the time period was the mid-1900s (around Agatha Christie's time). There really were no descriptions of the dress that clued me into that. Beyond that, it was just an ok mystery.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn't able to finish it. I didn't like the characters and didn't care what happened.

[Dannyn Qualls-Gibeau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holland has a good grasp on the class and societal struggles of country life in the 19th c. His use of language is enjoyable to a word-nerd like myself.

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boo. Couldn't even get halfway through it.

[JenniferB]

Good atmosphere but quite gory. Set in victorian times and old fashioned style