Cheating the Hangman

Tobias Campion #3

by Judith Cutler

A fork of lightning and a crash of thunder herald the completion of a heinous crime. In woodland belonging to the eccentric Lord Wychbold, a body has been crucified on a tree. On Easter Day, the Reverend Tobias Campion returns from morning service at St Luke’s and discovers the corpse, already beginning to putrefy. A crown of thorns frames his face, bludgeoned beyond recognition, and a loincloth preserves what is left of his modesty.

The victim will not rise again; though the well-concealed secrets of the village will have to, if the perpetrators are to be found. After a post-mortem examination fails to identify the victim, Tobias and his old friend, Dr Hansard, pledge to uncover the truth. Forced to question the gentry as well as the local parishioners, the pair hear whispers of Satanism, of unsavoury pasts and sinister obsessions. Before long, an attempt is made to silence their enquiries into the murder; Tobias, injured but no less determined, realises he must be close to the truth if someone wants him dead. Faced with hostility and resentment from the villagers, Tobias needs to unearth their dark secrets to bring the murderer to light.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 22, 2015

About the author

Judith Cutler was born and bred in the Midlands, and revels in using her birthplace, with its rich cultural life, as a background for her novels. After a long stint as an English lecturer at a run-down college of further education, Judith, a prize-winning short-story writer, has taught Creative Writing at Birmingham University, has run occasional writing course elsewhere (from a maximum security prison to an idyltic Greek island) and ministered to needy colleagues in her role as Secretary of the Crime Writers' Association.

Reviews

[Virginia Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book introduces Lady Julia Pendragon, the third lady that captures Tobias' impressionable fancy. They renewed their childhood acquaintance when he went to a house party to meet his mother. Then nothing, as he was again on the move back to his parish. Given that this is not a love story but a mystery, we also move on from that promising romance but we will take note of it. Soon after, Tobias received a visit from the Archdeacon who asked him to minister to a nearby parish (Clavercote) with a missing rector. On Clavercote, he was met with hostility and was discouraged to discharge his additional duties. Being an obedient and proper man of the cloth, Tobias refused to be intimidated. Then taking a different route back to Moreton St. Jude, he discovered a decomposing body nailed to a tree in a parody of the crucifixion. After several bouts of retching and casting off his accounts, he hastened back to Dr. Edmund Hansard, his friend and Justice of the Peace.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had read the previous book in this series back in 2009 but could not remember much about it. Set in England in the early 1800s Tobias Campion is the son of a Duke who has fallen out with his father by becoming a rector of a village church. The author writes in a different style from the one she uses in her books set in the present. Campion discovers a corpse of a man who has been killed in a macabre manner and sets out to discover the identity of the murdered man and his killers. It is not much of a story but along the way the author makes a lot of comments about society. It's an unlikely story with some surprises but one mystery is not quite explained but I expect this may be explored in the next book. I doubt I will read the next book though!

[Soozee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parson Campion is an unusual and interesting hero, and the series bodes well to be very good. He is an aristocrat, who's father strongly disapproves of his calling. But he seems a genuine and kind man, who is determined to see justice prevail in a very hostile village. An enjoyable read, well-written, and I shall be looking for more in the series.

[Ejlkasld · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself was good but the language and characters were a little difficult to follow at times. But overall I liked it 👍🏻

[Elizabeth Ambrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite the bumbling Pastor.

[Jane Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable tale about crime and punishment with a central character who, unusually, embodies Christian goodness without being insufferable.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apart from the feeling that Cutler acquired her Regency vocabulary by reading Georgette Heyer romances, I enjoyed this book. Good light reading for this time of the year, although it does highlight the plight of villagers and farm workers in the early 19th century.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written, but it didn't have enough action to keep me interested. Great historical setting & background.

[Pauline Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok book set in times of highwaymen, a good historical /crime read