If I had not read five previous books in this Constable Evans cozy mystery, I would not have stuck with it. It was slow to get going and at times poorly edited. Ms Bowen telegraphs her punches here, and there was little suspense. However, I am glad I made it to the end.This book helped me clarify why I like Constable Evans and why I get the same comforting feeling from this series that I did from Alexander McCall Smith's Isabel Dalhousie books, which are much more sophisticated and literary.I believe in doing the right thing, regardless of the cost and regardless of whether others agree. This is core of Evan Evans' personality and also crucial to the Isabel Dalhousie character. Toward the end of "Evan Only Knows," Evans says: "It seems to me we can't pick and choose justice in this life. We can just do our bit, and sometimes we get it right and sometimes we get it wrong." Too often in modern society, the morality of expediency trumps our inner sense of right and wrong. I wouldn't try to impose my ethical views on others, but I do try to live by an internal moral compass. That's what I like about Evan Evan.The bucolic Welsh setting also contributes to a feeling of peace in this series. I wish the characters evolved more, but at the same time there is a certain comfort in opening a Constable Evans book as we know what we are going to get. The cast of characters in these pages reminds me a bit of the villagers in "Doc Martin," the British television series that is also quite cozy.The other aspect of this novel that I found appealing -- and it is a constant theme in this series -- is that hope can be rewarded, regardless of the odds. Near the end of this book, another policeman tells Evan: "I've lived long enough to know that little miracles are happening every day. That's what we need in times like this (sic) -- a few little miracles."As one who struggles with a serious albeit not life-threatening illness, I find that sentiment uplifting and inspiring.To sum up, this is not the best Constable Evan book but if read in sequence it is rewarding.
What do you do when the person who killed your father but got away with a slap on the wrist is arrested for another murder – but you don't think he did it this time? If you're North Wales police constable Evan Evans, you dig to find the truth – after all, that is what his late father would have done. This 7th book in Rhys Bowen's Constable Evans Mystery series deviates from other books in the series in that the action takes place in the South Wales city of Swansea, rather than the North Wales village of Llanfair. Yes, favorite village characters do make a cameo appearance, but most of the book features new characters, including Evans' and his fiancee Bronwen's immediate families. As such, there is a slightly different flavor – but only slight. Evans is still Evans, and still digging into mysteries and still vexing his superiors.I applaud the author for coming up with a way to send a new breeze into the series without losing its spirit, and for tying it into Great Britain's historic foot-and-mouth (known as hoof-and-mouth in the US) epidemic in the early 2000's – without turning our police constable into a Ministry of Agriculture expert on the subject.I'm running out of series – the author only produced 10 books before moving on to other interests – so I plan to savor the next 3. And perhaps to continue to badger Miss Bown to add an 11th book ...RATING: 4 stars.
What do You think about Evan Only Knows (2004)?
This novel in the Constable Evans mystery series opens with a foot-and-mouth disease that threatens the local sheep in Llanfair, Wales where Evan is the only police officer. He and his finacee, Bronwen, make the decision that Evan should take his vacation days and visit his mother in Swansea rather than see the sheep slaughtered. As they pull out the drive, a neighbor rushes out with a warm egg and bacon pie, a bara brith, bread with mixed fruit, and sandwiches in case they get hungry on the drive. They arrive at Evan's mother's house and she has poached egg on welsh rarebit, a cottage loaf, yellow cheese and several kinds of cakes and biscuits. Obviously, Rhys Bowen loves food, but she loves mystery even more and the plot soon switches to the death of Evan's policeman father who had been killed by a local man who has been rearrested on murder charges in the death of a girl from a wealthy family. Even though Evan is on vacation, he cannot resist delving into the case and is soon ensconced in the case, trying to, unbelievably, prove the innocence of the man who killed his father. Tony Mancini only served four years in prison and Evan's mother is aghast that he would be released only to be charged with the murder of Alison Turnbull, a local teen and the daughter of Mancini's boss. This time Bronwen helps him by impersonating a teenager and hanging out at the local pubs that Tony had frequented in order to find information. Evan's mother tries to rein in her son, but he is on another case and won't give up until he finds his man. Or is it a woman? This seventh in the cozy series highlights Bowen's deftness with character, location, and plot. She is the best!
—Bonnie
3 and a halfThis book strays from the expected as Evan and Bronwyn leave Llanfair for a "holiday" to meet each other's parents and officially announce their engagement and Evan gets drawn into a murder investigation when it involves the boy who pulled the trigger that killed his father a few years back. I like it when an author takes the characters in a series and gives us a little something different instead of staying over and over in the same plot with a different victim. This wasn't the most successful I've seen, but bravo for trying!
—Alice
