A Bedlam of Bones

Francis Oughterard Mystery #5

by Suzette A. Hill

A blackmailer is stalking the bishop—can he survive the threat of being outed? Why is there a body in the flower bed? And can Lavinia Birtle-Figgins really be as dippy as she seems? These and other imponderables immerse the Reverend Francis Oughterard in a fresh web of danger and subterfuge, while his animal "minders," Maurice and Bouncer, try their best to make sense of all this human bedlam.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Detective, Crime, British Literature

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Suzette A. Hill was born in Eastbourne, Sussex, in 1941. She is a graduate of Nottingham and Newcastle-upon-Tyne Universities. Hill taught English literature all her professional life. At age sixty-four and retired, she tried her hand at a short story - just to see what writing fiction felt like, and to her surprise a quintet of humorous novels (Reverend Francis Oughterard series) was the result.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read one other mystery in this series about the murderous vicar in 1950's England whose dog and cat alternate narration duties with the vicar himself. The cover blurb states: "A perfect, one-sitting summer read." Not for me. It dragged. I wasted time. It put me to sleep. Finally I gave up. In principle, if you like quirky, funny English cozy mysteries that take place in villages populated with eccentrics, then you might like this. I can say, to be fair, that this series should probably be read in order because there are many references to past books and the plot is rather convoluted as a result.
So there you go, I usually don't write a review unless I have something good to say, but I am interested in why some books works for a reader and some don't, and especially with humor, what makes one person laugh falls flat with another, so just ignore my review and give this series a try anyway if you like mysteries.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here's my review that appeared in the November 2011 issue of Historical Novel Review:

This mystery is the latest in a series, Bones in the Belfry, A Load of Old Bones, Bone Idle, and Bones in High Places being the earlier installments. The books have a charming premise: some chapters are told from points of view of the protagonist reverend’s dog and cat, Bouncer and Maurice. There’s a dead-on Miss Marple British village setting complete with eccentric characters; and the author’s style is cheeky, chirpy, and witty. She’s also got a nice plot, a tale of a blackmailed bishop amidst treacle tarts, waistcoats, and buggery.

I finished it with some relief, weary of feeling perplexed about what was going on. I have read a fair amount of British fiction, but this was hard work. The glib repartee here is evidently graduate level British English, and it turns out I’m a dull American sophomore. More confounding yet was that instead of a backstory the book has 25 footnotes. “First mentioned in A Load of Old Bones,” “Dumont appears in Bones in High Places,” “See A Load of Old Bones.” I puzzled over the story’s era; my guess is the 1930s. The reverend drives an old Singer. Maybe the ’50s. It was as though the first third—or more—of the book were missing. See Bones in the Belfry indeed.

[Reggie Billingsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole series is so delightful: soundly plotted, a cast of wonderfully believable oddities, I wish it would never end but it must be so according to the wise author who knows how to keep a gem a gem.
The idiosyncratic nature of the protagonist, his on-going and progressively more complicated predicaments and his equally eccentric surroundings are well anchored in the monstrously entertaining reflections of both of his inherited "pets": one cat Maurice and one dog Bouncer.... a hugely impressive study in animal insight if ever I read one. These are not cutesy canine or petty feline exchanges revealed to a nauseatingly twee degree. Hill has the exact tone right for each animal correct to it's species and single-minded personality. These two animals are the only ones on this arc who have their heads on straight and ultimately I hope will deservedly triumph over the unnecessary but entertaining complications the silly humans create in the end. One can only sympathise with companion animals the world over, similarly subjected to the inexplicable whim's of their humans.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy fun read to end the 5 book series

[Lizzie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘A Bedlam of Bones’ by Suzette Hill
Published by Constable, May 2011. ISBN: 978-1-84901-458-8

Hoping that he has seen the last of Rupert Turnbull following his gory encounter with him in France, see 'Bones in High Places', Reverend Francis Oughterard (FO) is keen to bury himself in his village of Molehill going about his pastoral duties. But his sister Primrose has other ideas and soon poor old FO is back in the company of Rupert Turnbull, Rupert's cousin Lavinia Birtle-Figgins, Nicholas Ingaza, not to mention Bishop Horace Clinker, the covert tiddlywinks player.

Despite having during a moment of aberration offed his bothersome parishioner Elizabeth Fotherington in the woods, see 'A Load of Old Bones', FO is a kindly chap given to chewing humbugs, smoking and playing the piano in times of stress, all accompanied by a few large gins. So being dragged into shady dealings, FO is totally out of his depth, luckily he has two trusty companions to steer him right, Maurice his disdainful cat, and Bouncer, the dog whom Maurice just about tolerates.

With a blackmailer threatening to `out' Bishop Clinker, FO becomes an unwilling confident. A panic phone call and FO finds himself presented with a dead body. Attempting to keep the writer Mrs Tubbly Pole from investigating, and pacifying Mavis Briggs how will FO get out of this sticky mess?

Marvellous characters, and with a wonderful turn of phrase. Set in the 1950's, this fifth book in the Molehill series is highly entertaining, and recommended.
-----
Lizzie Hayes

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifth in the series featuring the Reverend Francis Oughterard. Once again, it is a pleasure to follow the foibles of Canon Francis, Bouncer, Maurice, and rest of the cast. It is set in the small parish of Molehill in England in the 1950’s. I rarely like books with anthropomorphic pets, but Hill makes it work. I enjoy each new installment more than the last, as I come to appreciate the characters in different ways. The climatic ending is not one I would have suspected.

It is a real disappointment and shocking when Francis dies in the end. I would be interested to hear the opinion of other readers.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The worst cozy I've ever read. I'm not one to normally give up on a book. I normally stick it out until the end hoping for something to change, for the ending to redeem the rest of the book. This is one that I just could not get through no matter how hard I tried. The writing was terrible, filled with much more slang than is necessary to make the story fun and set the tone of the time period. Bouncing back and forth between so many points of view does nothing but stretch the story and make the plot seem convoluted. There is absolutely nothing interesting, just a tangled up confused story that is impossible to take seriously.

[Bookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have been waiting with bated breath for this intallment of the follies of F.O. and his furry friends. Hill instills A Bedlam of Bones with her wonderful wit and keen sense of the silly into the story.

But... My hopes for the future are dashed.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Glad this has finished. I feel it was dragged out too long. I enjoyed the first 2 very much. The 3rd one was slower the 4th, helped by a change of scene, improved. But this one felt interminable. That said I'm glad I've the Revd Francis right to the end.

[Lili · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first book in this series very much, while originally the old fashioned writing style and the narration captivated me, unfortunately it now seems repetitive and think it really was time to finish. A decent finale.

[Mary Lou · Rating 1 out of 5]

abandoned

[Verity W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it - although I thought the resolution (which was to the whole series) was a bit of a let down.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed the different memoirs by both the human and animal characters. It will be interesting to see what Ms. Hill will write next.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series. So glad to see now that it will continue,albeit with Primrose and new book out.

[Thomasin Propson]

The praise on the back may have set expectations too high. Not feeling it.