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Masters and Green #2
Death After Evensong
The body was found in the village school.
The vicar of Rooksby-le-Soken in East Anglia was found on Monday morning on a classroom floor with a hole through his heart—but no trace of the bullet. Indubitably he had been killed on the spot, the blood on the wall behind him was proof of that.
Detective Chief Inspector George Masters was sent by the Yard to sort things out and decided the method was less important than the motive. From his headquarters in the local pub Masters began his delving into the private lives of the villagers and soon discovered that the vicar was a much unloved incumbent.
No one had a good word for him and quite a number had considerably less than that. The publican and his Italian wife, with an attractive, still unwed daughter of twenty-eight, the local G.P. and his obstreperous son who ran a joint practice, the village carpenter, and the schoolmaster with a grudge, were only a few of the suspects Masters unearthed in twenty-four hours.
In a few days he had raked up enough dirt to put a lot of them on the spot. But in the end it was his capacity for remembering significant details and fitting them into the jigsaw that sorted out the man and the method.
The vicar of Rooksby-le-Soken in East Anglia was found on Monday morning on a classroom floor with a hole through his heart—but no trace of the bullet. Indubitably he had been killed on the spot, the blood on the wall behind him was proof of that.
Detective Chief Inspector George Masters was sent by the Yard to sort things out and decided the method was less important than the motive. From his headquarters in the local pub Masters began his delving into the private lives of the villagers and soon discovered that the vicar was a much unloved incumbent.
No one had a good word for him and quite a number had considerably less than that. The publican and his Italian wife, with an attractive, still unwed daughter of twenty-eight, the local G.P. and his obstreperous son who ran a joint practice, the village carpenter, and the schoolmaster with a grudge, were only a few of the suspects Masters unearthed in twenty-four hours.
In a few days he had raked up enough dirt to put a lot of them on the spot. But in the end it was his capacity for remembering significant details and fitting them into the jigsaw that sorted out the man and the method.
150 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1969
419 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Clark
121 books18 followersDouglas Malcolm Jackson Clark was a British author.
He was also known by the pseudonyms James Ditton and Peter Hosier.
He was also known by the pseudonyms James Ditton and Peter Hosier.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
February 17, 2022
I enjoyed this one more than I did the first volume in the series, NOBODY'S PERFECT. I liked the characters more and really enjoyed disliking the victim. Masters and Green still dislike each other and don't appeal to me as likeable people.
Green is the product of a working class leftist family complete with the prejudice and attitudes which often come with that background. He has a superb memory but doesn't seem able to use it for analysis and problem solving. In the two books which I have read he serves, primarily, as a foil for Masters.
Masters is vain and something of a snob. He frequently judges people by appearances. I would say that he also leaps to barely supported conclusions and acts on them. In this book his evidence against the murderer is weak but convinces the killer that all is lost.
Free from Kindle Unlimited. Three and a half stars rounded to four. I already have the third volume and the writing is good enough that I plan to read it.
Green is the product of a working class leftist family complete with the prejudice and attitudes which often come with that background. He has a superb memory but doesn't seem able to use it for analysis and problem solving. In the two books which I have read he serves, primarily, as a foil for Masters.
Masters is vain and something of a snob. He frequently judges people by appearances. I would say that he also leaps to barely supported conclusions and acts on them. In this book his evidence against the murderer is weak but convinces the killer that all is lost.
Free from Kindle Unlimited. Three and a half stars rounded to four. I already have the third volume and the writing is good enough that I plan to read it.
December 5, 2019
An impossible crime novel about the disappearance of the bullet that killed the pastor. He was really a very unpleasant man and it was no surprise that someone killed him. I like the enigmatic remarks of detective Masters which the reader or the other detectives do not understand. A ingenious mystery which was marred by several things. The first is the way the detectives treat women, something that people in authority shouldn’t do. The second is that the Dutch community in the village is referred to as the Boers. This is historically just not true. The term “Boers” refers to the descendants of the Dutch, Germans and the Huguenots who settled in the Cape Province in South Africa who eventually, through intermingling, became the Afrikaners. These two things loses the book at least one star.
August 16, 2021
This is the second Masters/Green I have read, and it will be my last. The contrived antagonism between Masters and Green is so unprofessional and immature. I wish they would grow up. Masters' ego needs to be slapped down instead of all that 'How does he do it?' nonsense, and Green has issues which border on racism. Fortunately, their sergeants have a smidgeon of sense. It's too bad that someone can't split up that team, but what would the author have done then besides 'dazzle' his readers with interminable facts?
May 4, 2020
Death After Evensong (1969) by Douglas Clark is the second book in his Masters and Green series. The Yard is called in quickly when the vicar of Rooksby-le-Soken in East Anglia is found shot to death in a locked basement classroom in the old school. In fact, Inspector George Masters is a bit surprised at the quick call and even more surprised when he finds out the body is still in the classroom. But Nicholson, the local Detective Superintendent, explains that he knew he had to when he saw the body. Herbert Parlsoe had been shot at close range and the exit wound proves that the bullet is no longer in the body. But there's no evidence of it anywhere. To all appearances, the man was shot while up against a wall joist, but though there's blood on the joist, there's no bullet hole.
After a search confirms that no bullet can be found and the local Doctor (actually one of two--a father and son who share the practice) confirms Masters' observation that the missile is unusually shaped, the Yard man seems to lose interest in the method of death and starts hunting for motive. And motive there is--in abundance. The vicar was a very unpleasant and Masters and his team cannot find a single soul in the village to put in a good word for him. He was a skinflint and worked every way he could to either pay as little as possible for services rendered or to avoid paying at all. He had had run-ins with everyone from the owner of the local pub and his Italian wife to the doctor and his seemingly surly son to a carpenter he got fired to the schoolmaster he done out of a job at the new school. The vicar even treated his own daughters poorly and Masters wouldn't put it past the darkly beautiful Pamela to go in for a bit of patricide if it would keep dear old dad out of her affairs.
When all is said and done though, it does come back around to how. Because until he and his team can prove how it was done, they will have a difficult time proving who. Masters is sure there was something in the classroom that he saw but didn't understand the first time they were there and a second visit gives him the answer he needs.
I'm a bit torn on this one. The locked room and murder method were quite interesting--I had a glimmering of an idea of how it might have been done, but not the specifics. And, like Masters, once I had an idea about how I narrowed it down to a couple of suspects. I didn't guess right between them--but I was pleased that I spotted it. The characters were all quite good too and I liked the care that Masters took about Parsloe's younger daughter (who is a bit disadvantaged). But--
The antagonism between Masters and Green is really too much (as mentioned in my review of the first novel, Nobody's Perfect). They are definitely getting on my last nerve throughout most of this one and I can state without a doubt that if I had read these in order and didn't know the relationship improves at some point I would have chucked this series after this one. There are a couple of comments at the end that give me hope that number three will be better--but only because I know it will be better eventually. So, this is one series that I can say that I'm really, really glad that the first four books eluded me for so long. ★★★ --all for plot and method.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
After a search confirms that no bullet can be found and the local Doctor (actually one of two--a father and son who share the practice) confirms Masters' observation that the missile is unusually shaped, the Yard man seems to lose interest in the method of death and starts hunting for motive. And motive there is--in abundance. The vicar was a very unpleasant and Masters and his team cannot find a single soul in the village to put in a good word for him. He was a skinflint and worked every way he could to either pay as little as possible for services rendered or to avoid paying at all. He had had run-ins with everyone from the owner of the local pub and his Italian wife to the doctor and his seemingly surly son to a carpenter he got fired to the schoolmaster he done out of a job at the new school. The vicar even treated his own daughters poorly and Masters wouldn't put it past the darkly beautiful Pamela to go in for a bit of patricide if it would keep dear old dad out of her affairs.
When all is said and done though, it does come back around to how. Because until he and his team can prove how it was done, they will have a difficult time proving who. Masters is sure there was something in the classroom that he saw but didn't understand the first time they were there and a second visit gives him the answer he needs.
I'm a bit torn on this one. The locked room and murder method were quite interesting--I had a glimmering of an idea of how it might have been done, but not the specifics. And, like Masters, once I had an idea about how I narrowed it down to a couple of suspects. I didn't guess right between them--but I was pleased that I spotted it. The characters were all quite good too and I liked the care that Masters took about Parsloe's younger daughter (who is a bit disadvantaged). But--
The antagonism between Masters and Green is really too much (as mentioned in my review of the first novel, Nobody's Perfect). They are definitely getting on my last nerve throughout most of this one and I can state without a doubt that if I had read these in order and didn't know the relationship improves at some point I would have chucked this series after this one. There are a couple of comments at the end that give me hope that number three will be better--but only because I know it will be better eventually. So, this is one series that I can say that I'm really, really glad that the first four books eluded me for so long. ★★★ --all for plot and method.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
August 16, 2021
It was okay. In the beginning I had to keep going back to the beginning to figure out who was who, but I got sort of stuck into it and finished it in an afternoon. A lot of people complain about the sexist talk, but this was apparently was written in 1969. You really can’t assign 21st century ideals to mid-20th century people. I saw this as an unfortunate attempt to capture a Sam Spade-ish tone. Not a bad read, but I couldn’t put it higher than 3.
January 15, 2019
A very ingenious murder method is used in this 1969 tale of the investigation of the killing of a highly-unpopular vicar in an East Midlands village.
DCI George Masters and his team ask a lot of questions and unearth many secrets in the process of solving the crime in this short novel.
Although I did not spot the perpetrator, I did not much enjoy this book. What really got in the way were the distastefully sexist attitudes displayed by the police and the concentration by the author on the physical attributes of all the female characters. This made the book seem very dated, and unpleasant.
DCI George Masters and his team ask a lot of questions and unearth many secrets in the process of solving the crime in this short novel.
Although I did not spot the perpetrator, I did not much enjoy this book. What really got in the way were the distastefully sexist attitudes displayed by the police and the concentration by the author on the physical attributes of all the female characters. This made the book seem very dated, and unpleasant.
February 23, 2023
Nice mystery with interesting supporting characters and a bittersweet resolution. My biggest issue was how bland the main characters were. Four Scotland Yard men, including Masters and Green, and the only one that was readily distinguishable from the others (or even the local constabulary) was Masters, and that because he was clearly the one in charge. They have no real personalities, other than Green being slightly cranky. The main characters in this series need a lot of development if they're to be memorable, and these guys are completely forgettable. I haven't read the first volume, and maybe a fair bit of character development was done there, but truly memorable characters should still be memorable in subsequent volumes.
The mystery itself was a nice one, with multiple realistic suspects and overlapping subplots with a variety of tangled motives. A few of the minor characters were clearly placed solely for the purpose of advancing the plot, and the dialogue for some of those interactions had an artificial tone that pulled me out of the story. It came across like rehearsed testimony from a witness instead of spontaneous conversations.
I wasn't expecting it to play out the way it did, but I wasn't disappointed, either. All the major subplots were also accounted for, so the book can be read satisfactorily as a standalone.
The mystery itself was a nice one, with multiple realistic suspects and overlapping subplots with a variety of tangled motives. A few of the minor characters were clearly placed solely for the purpose of advancing the plot, and the dialogue for some of those interactions had an artificial tone that pulled me out of the story. It came across like rehearsed testimony from a witness instead of spontaneous conversations.
I wasn't expecting it to play out the way it did, but I wasn't disappointed, either. All the major subplots were also accounted for, so the book can be read satisfactorily as a standalone.
March 3, 2025
These books are set in the 1960s & 70s and therefore reflect the social attitudes of the time but even as someone who lived through those years some of the notions are hard to take conditioned as we are to the changed attitudes of the last 20 - 30 years. Despite that I can cope with them and enjoy the stories which rely more on listening to what people are telling, or not telling, the police. It is very different from more modern police investigations; there is no technology and no DNA etc. The attitude of senior officers to the public is very telling and does seem to reflect the superior attitude of detectives from the time. All of this just makes for a very different storyline from that which is more usual in modern detective novels, it is no worse and no better. The stories are still a good read.
My only bugbear is the author’s fixation on describing people and passing judgement on the way they look, this is particularly marked in his descriptions of women and often culminates in how attractive or seductive he finds them. I know that this was very much the norm back in the 60s & 70s but do feel that it has been overdone.
I will not necessarily let that put me off reading the rest of the series but it does intrude.
August 24, 2021
An old fashioned story
Where to start? A very un pc , old fashioned detective story, not to be read by people offended by old views on language,and how to treat women, it's very 1960's in character and style. If you can see your way through that, it's
quite an interesting book. The main characters are not entirely likeable but interesting, if you grew up watching Z cars, the Sweeney and other 60' s classics and like the no mobiles or modern techniques of detection it's an easy read.
Where to start? A very un pc , old fashioned detective story, not to be read by people offended by old views on language,and how to treat women, it's very 1960's in character and style. If you can see your way through that, it's
quite an interesting book. The main characters are not entirely likeable but interesting, if you grew up watching Z cars, the Sweeney and other 60' s classics and like the no mobiles or modern techniques of detection it's an easy read.
May 16, 2022
In this police procedural from 1969, Detective Chief Inspector George Masters and Detective Inspector Bill Green are sent by Scotland Yard to the village of Rooksby, where the much-despised local vicar has been murdered. There is no sign of the bullet or murder weapon, but lots of potential suspects. The Scotland Yard team wraps up the case in three days, and Masters even has time to set right some local issues that he uncovers during the course of the investigation.
I enjoyed the well-drawn characters and clever plot.
I enjoyed the well-drawn characters and clever plot.
August 21, 2021
"Misjudged"
The author of this book, written fifty years ago, is no longer with us; he died almost twenty years ago. I reviewed a book from a different publisher the other day and I'm afraid my comments still hold true. Today's readers will not accept the language and attitudes used in this book. To merely add a new cover, and produce a hyped-up product page are doing the reader a disservice. The murder mystery itself was ingenious, but I believe the presentation in this format misjudged.
The author of this book, written fifty years ago, is no longer with us; he died almost twenty years ago. I reviewed a book from a different publisher the other day and I'm afraid my comments still hold true. Today's readers will not accept the language and attitudes used in this book. To merely add a new cover, and produce a hyped-up product page are doing the reader a disservice. The murder mystery itself was ingenious, but I believe the presentation in this format misjudged.
August 26, 2021
I was looking for a bit of diversion and Death After Evensong was available free as a Kindle book. I have not read any other volumes in the series and I doubt that I will.
The story is a fairly standard English whodunit/police procedural, but the characters are one-dimensional and the casual (and not so casual) racism and sexism are jarring. As a whole, it is all a bit dated -- and not necessarily in a good way.
The story is a fairly standard English whodunit/police procedural, but the characters are one-dimensional and the casual (and not so casual) racism and sexism are jarring. As a whole, it is all a bit dated -- and not necessarily in a good way.
August 27, 2018
Thoroughly Wonderful Read
As I began reading this book I was unsure if I liked the way it was written but as I continued to read it I found I enjoyed reading it very much!!! I can't believe it is book number 2 and written in 1969 and I've never heard of Douglas Clark! I will be on the lookout for more books by this author.
As I began reading this book I was unsure if I liked the way it was written but as I continued to read it I found I enjoyed reading it very much!!! I can't believe it is book number 2 and written in 1969 and I've never heard of Douglas Clark! I will be on the lookout for more books by this author.
August 18, 2019
DCI Masters and DI Green are called in to investigate the death of a vicar. The body was discovered in the old village school of Rooksby. Because of the nature of the deceased there are no end of suspects. But can Masters and his team discover the guilty party.
An enjoyable crime story originally published in 1969
An enjoyable crime story originally published in 1969
August 26, 2021
Well written, with gritty, believable, unique characters.
If you love mysteries, like Holmes and Christy and others you will like this. Remember it was written in 1969. A different world then.
A locked room who-done-it murder mystery.
Wow! No complains here except for a few unnessary (cuss)
Enjoy!words.
If you love mysteries, like Holmes and Christy and others you will like this. Remember it was written in 1969. A different world then.
A locked room who-done-it murder mystery.
Wow! No complains here except for a few unnessary (cuss)
Enjoy!words.
February 16, 2022
First of this series I have read, last I have read. If it hadn’t been for Sergeant Hill I doubt that Masters could have shown off quite so much. Green showed his lack of intelligence through his snide remarks. Why did every female in the town have to be portrayed as promiscuous cretins who wanted nothing more than a man no matter who. A good edit would have helped too. Boers, really?!
June 3, 2022
With more than one suspect, Masters and Green have their work cut out for them. Through slow methodical investigation they arrive at some unexpected answers quicker than anyone could have predicted. The story is a bit dated as Scotland Yard doesn't send detectives around England to solve cases as each region has their own Major Crimes Unit these days.
August 1, 2020
Fantastic
It's mystery and love story. The storyteller has the "it" factory to make me want to read book 3. Once you are immersed in the story, you feel like your really in the story
It's mystery and love story. The storyteller has the "it" factory to make me want to read book 3. Once you are immersed in the story, you feel like your really in the story
August 19, 2021
A well conceived mystery that uncovers so many secrets about why so many people hated the man murdered. And it’s fun in that in the solution their are now computers or cell Phones involved. Just good investigating and sound conclusions from all the clues and information collected. Very satisfying!
August 26, 2021
CLASSIC MYSTERY
This book was a excellent example of a classic murder mystery. The characters were very well written and played their roles perfectly. It was a joy to read all of it,
This book was a excellent example of a classic murder mystery. The characters were very well written and played their roles perfectly. It was a joy to read all of it,
October 22, 2021
At least 2 chapters
You may need 2 chapters to really get immersed in the way Masters mind works. This is worked like you would solve a jigsaw puzzle one piece at a time. Fascinating read.
You may need 2 chapters to really get immersed in the way Masters mind works. This is worked like you would solve a jigsaw puzzle one piece at a time. Fascinating read.
April 12, 2022
British mysteries are such a treat
This one is guilty o some dated expressions, but otherwise is a first rate who-done-it, with patient pacing and pieces tumbling about like a good puzzle should.
This one is guilty o some dated expressions, but otherwise is a first rate who-done-it, with patient pacing and pieces tumbling about like a good puzzle should.
November 16, 2025
Quite the mystery
I enjoyed the story which had so many twists and turns. I found it a bit difficult to.understand some of the language and colloquial terms, the dictionary helped some. I will definitely read more from this author.
I enjoyed the story which had so many twists and turns. I found it a bit difficult to.understand some of the language and colloquial terms, the dictionary helped some. I will definitely read more from this author.
January 15, 2019
I found this a bit slow to start, but it picks up and has a unique charm [mediated via Masters] all it's own. Quite a good read.
January 30, 2019
Good book!
This book was interesting, had believable characters and many twists and turns. I highly recommend it to other mystery readers.
This book was interesting, had believable characters and many twists and turns. I highly recommend it to other mystery readers.
April 2, 2020
This is Clark's first effort. It was a great start to a great future.
August 20, 2021
This is an old story, published in 1969, and I got sick of the comments on women's looks, figures etc. However it was a good mystery with a twist that I didn't see coming at all!
August 29, 2021
Excellent mystery with a surprise ending
Riding along with Detective Masters and the crew as they unwind this tricky murder. This kept me guessing until the very end.
Riding along with Detective Masters and the crew as they unwind this tricky murder. This kept me guessing until the very end.
September 13, 2021
Unnaturally
Following the development of the investigation involving people with motives of many varieties was artfully developed. A real rare treat in crime fiction.
Following the development of the investigation involving people with motives of many varieties was artfully developed. A real rare treat in crime fiction.
February 22, 2022
Death After Evensong
This is the first novel I've read by Douglas Clark. Initially it was a little difficult because of the British patois. I really enjoyed it.
This is the first novel I've read by Douglas Clark. Initially it was a little difficult because of the British patois. I really enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews