Eighth in the Constable Evans mystery series set in Wales and revolving around a bright young policeman lacking the time to hike as much as he was used to. My Take I do so enjoy this series. Bowen has created a small cast of colorful characters whose lives move forward and every once in awhile, they look back as Evan does in this installment. This particular story revolves around two young 5-year-old-ish girls. One went missing 25 years ago; the other a few hours ago.There is an introspective air to this story as Bowen examines today's issues of custody battles along with the emotional issues of blame and guilt that affect a family for the rest of their lives. The unfairness of taking the trauma of losing one child out on a child who is still there. There is something to be said for therapy! Everyone could have led much easier lives if they had all deal with their guilt instead of shoving it off on each other.A nice bit of tongue-in-cheek humor with Evans' encounters with Pilcher as it embodies the age-old frustration of bureaucracy as Evans struggles to hold in his anger with the idiot. I did enjoy Owens-the-Sheep's retort there at the end! I betcha anything the idiot seriously considered Owens' remark! The Story A five-year-old girl is stolen from a beach while her mother fetched cigarettes from her vacation caravan and the Welsh police pile it on from flyers to NCIS, media alerts to Interpol in their efforts to find the young girl. In the midst of all this, Evans must get on with rebuilding the old cottage if he and Bronwen are to move in the end of August. Now, it turns out, he has to have the water and sewage pipes inspected.Well, Evans sets to with a will to unearth those pipes, but he unearths a lot more than just water lines when he finds the skeleton of a young child laid atop those pipes. Speculation reminds Evans of a missing girl, a childhood friend of his, who went missing 25 years ago. A little girl who looks very like this latest missing girl.Coincidentally, it's also been 25 years since her family members have visited the grandfather's farm just over the hill. The Characters Detective Constable Evans now. Yup, Evans got his promotion and he's wondering if it was the right decision as it has been a long while since he's had any time to hike into the mountains either by himself or with Bronwen Price, his schoolteacher fiancée. We don't see much of Betsy Edwards, the barmaid, or her new bloke, Barry-the-Bucket. Owens-the-Sheep has his complaints to make—seems that Parks Authority fellow came snooping around his place and doesn't like the improvements Owens made to his barn. Mrs. Powell-Jones has her complaints to make about the rival chapel in Llanfair; their Biblical sayings war is still going strong although this installments offerings were a bit weak.Detective Inspector Watkins is feeling his promotion as well; as Evans points out, he's morphing into DCI Hughes! Detective Glynis Davies is their computer whiz.Shirley Sholokhov is the distraught mother whose daughter, Ashley, is taken from a beach at a caravan park. Ashley has recently had a heart transplant; she also looks remarkably similar to Sarah. It takes a while, but eventually she confesses to the police that she thinks her husband, a Russian immigrant, may have taken Ashley. The family who lost Sarah 25 years ago includes Hugh Bosley-Thomas, the father; Henry, the brother and a solicitor whose wife, Camilla, refuses to have children because she doesn't trust her husband; Suzanne, the sister and the failure of the family, the one everyone blamed for surviving; Val Thomas, a cousin and a famous artist whose work reflects the trauma; Nick Thomas, another cousin who is now a Roman Catholic priest who lives in Canada; and, Tomos Thomas, the grandfather from whose farm she went missing.Mr. Pilcher is the asshole from the Parks Authority whose approval Evans must have if he's to be let rebuild old Rhodri's cottage. Personally, I think Pilcher is a fusspot who likes Council flats for himself and doesn't understand anyone who wants something unique! Daft Dai is a well-known fixture in the area particularly well-known for confessing to everything so he can enjoy a cup of tea and a biscuit at the station. The Cover The cover is not in one of my favorite styles. I suspect the ruined stone walls are Evans' new cottage where one of the bodies was found, a sheep dog poised with an eye to us, a mountain rising up behind with what looks like a door opening from out of the mountain with a mounted big cat's head with a ring in its nose—a door knocker??—with what appears to be a flag waving in the upper right corner. The pole slanting across the dog could be a shepherd's staff or the handle for a shovel.I don't really know what the title refers to.
A child has disappeared in Lanfair Wales. As Evan works on a ditch at the new cottage he and Bronwen look forward to inhabiting after their wedding, he strikes what he thinks is a rock, but turns out to be a bone! As he explores further he finds more bones and a small shoe! Horrified, he remembers another little girl who disappeared 25 years ago. Sarah was a summer visitor to the area in those days - a little girl a year younger than himself whom he played with when she was around. As Evan reports the finding to his superiors he is made aware that Sarah's family is in town for an 80th birthday party for Sarah's grandpa. Is this new disappearance a coincidence? Or has this family got something to do with both disappearances? Evan has no rest...he must pursue the subject.
What do You think about Evan's Gate (2005)?
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
—Dharia Scarab
Don't know why our mystery f2f group picked #8 to read rather than starting with #1. I don't generally like to jump into the middle of an established series. This was enjoyable. Good local color with wonderful peeks at Welsh history and folklore. Bowen seems to have a good feel for her male characters. My copy of the book (and it was a commercial copy, not an ARC) was filled with editing errors- typos, grammatical goofs, misspellings. That's what comes of letting machines do the proofing and 'typesetting' nowadays.
—Phair
Another of an excellent series, but hard to find. In this one, Constable Evan Evans of Wales is taken back to his childhood when visitors arrive that he remember. A playmate disappeared back then, and the mystery is revisited. Many twists and turns coupled with Evan's attempts to get a cottage ready to bring a bride into. There are complications that include a skeleton. Who doesn't love a town where, with so many named the same thing, he's Evan the law, and others are differentiated by their occupations as well as their names.Great read!
—Norma Huss
