This time this book was recommended to me by my Mom - who received the entire collection from a friend. This is a typical British Cozy-style mystery. Or, to be precise, a Welsh cozy set in Northern Wales in a small village at the foot of Mount Snowdon. Evan Evans is the local police constable, who returned to Llanfair a few years ago after training in the police in Swansea. The small village of Llanfair is home to many colorful, interesting characters, including three more Evans - known as Evans-the-milk (the dairy man), Evans-the-meat (the butcher), and Evans-the-Post (the mail carrier). So Evan Evans becomes Evans-the-law. There's also a flirty barmaid, and a no-nonsense school teacher who both view Evan as possible husband-on-the-hoof.Pretty quickly, a crime occurs - two hikers are found dead on the mountain. PC Evans immediately thinks it's murder, because two dead climbers is too much of a coincidence. Sgt. Watkins initially thinks it's simply an accident - and he's distracted by the horrible murder of a young girl, and an escaped pedophile he thinks is to blame.Evan investigates on his own, and nearly gets into trouble. But when the escaped pedophile is captured and confesses - everyone thinks all is well. Until there's a third murder.Suddenly, everyone is in a tizzy. Sgt. Watkins who has gradually come to appreciate PC Evan's skills, begins to listen to his theories and investigation so far. Watkins' boss comes in to solve the third murder - and downplays Watkins' abilities, just as Watkins had downplayed and pooh-poohed Evans own abilities.But pretty quickly Evans is able to investigate, find the real killer, and solve the case.Evans Above read like the pilot of a television series. It was fun and light, and I enjoyed it - but there was also very little depth. Still, I'd definitely read more in the series. If you like a good British Cozy style mystery, and want to explore Wales and Welsh culture, the Constable Evans Mystery series is a place to start.
Evans Above is what I would call an intelligent cozy. At the heart of this book is a decent mystery story, with multiple suspects, red herrings, and a pretty good solution. It's cute (which, to be honest, is not one of the criteria I look for in a mystery) but I liked it. Evan Evans, often known as Evans-the-Law so as to distinguish him from Evans-the-Post or Evans-the-Meat (it's Wales...Evans is a popular name), is the policeman in the small village of Llanfair, in the Snowdonia area (known in Wales as Eryri). As the story begins, he's called upon by the owner of a chalet on the mountain to look into a missing mountain hiker, but by the time Evans gets around to getting up to the mountain to check it out, he's investigating the hiker's death. puts it off One evening he is called up to the mountain to investigate a hiker's death. He's immediately suspicious, but his superiors cannot help him out because they're all involved in a child molestation case. When another man is killed, again on the mountain, Evans knows he must solve it on his own. Very light in tone, it was a good read. I liked the main character. I'm really not very at home with cozy mysteries, although I read them from time to time, and this is one of the better series starters I've come across in that genre. Readers of cozy mysteries will like it; readers of more edgy & serious mystery readers will find it a little light. I'd recommend it to cozy readers or those who like their mystery on the lighter side.
What do You think about Evans Above (1998)?
Another series by Rhys Bowen that I enjoyed reading. Evan Evans is a Welch constable that seems to have a knack for finding the murderer of a series of crimes. The Welch background and people make this an interesting and even educational series of 10 books that I read over the last 10 days. Light reading,one a day! While each book stands alone,the series finds Evan growing from a single man to a married man and a small village constable to becoming a Detective. A lot more crimes than I would like in a small village but that is what makes the mystery of each book.
—Judy Mccartney
The first in the mystery series, Constable Evans, Evans Above feels like a cross between the village life of Agatha Christie with the camaraderie between Inspector Jury and Divisional Commander Brian Macalvie in Martha Grimes' Richard Jury series. Evans has left big-city crime behind for the peace and tranquility of village life in Wales and has no desire to become entangled with any woman. Ahh, to dream for so little...and not get it. Evans soon becomes entangled. With a series of unexplained murders, a village full of matchmakers, and the need to play country politics.Bowen provides a nice sense of the atmosphere and give-and-take of village life with a vague sense of whatever time period in which Llanfair exists. It has a feel of the 1950s but there's a reference to a train robbery of the Royal Mail so I'm guessing that the year is round about 1969 which would make sense for the atmosphere depicted for a small village in the country.A soft, easy read with engaging characters and realistic dialog. I'm looking forward to reading Evan Help Us.
—Kathy Davie
I picked this up because I had finished the Hamish MacBeth series by MC Beaton which was light but enjoyable reading. The book is set in a small village in Wales and follows the village constable investigating a series of murders. I was somewhat disappointed in the descriptions of the scenery and landscape of the country which consisted mainly of a place with a lot of mist and a steep mountain. I read this because of the MC Beaton series but actually was annoyed when it mirrored it so closely, especially the beautiful blonde love interest who is "cold and emotionless." These characters, however, are one dimensional and I have no particular desire to read another to see what relationships develop. This book is not bad but is nothing special.
—Melissa Ratliff
