I was surprised to receive an Advanced Reading Copy of Pagan Spring by G.M. Malliet (I think it may have been from a giveaway on a blog). This is the first mystery I've read in Max Tudor series. These take place in the English village of Nether Monkslip. |
| Nether Monkslip |
Vicar Max Tudor, reveling in his new found personal happiness with Awena Owen, feels that life at the moment holds no greater challenge than writing his Easter sermon. With Awena away, he looks forward to a dinner that includes newcomers to the village like West End dramatist Thaddeus Bottle and his downtrodden wife Melinda. But when one of the dinner guests is found dead in the pre-dawn hours, Max knows a poisonous atmosphere has once again enveloped his perfect village of Nether Monkslip. . .
My thoughts:
There were a lot of characters introduced in the first few chapters which I found confusing, but the author did list the characters and background on each of them at the beginning of the book. I love stories set in an English country village and the mystery reminded me a little of the Midsomer Murders which were adapted from the Caroline Graham books. The plot was well developed and I liked Max Tudor who was once a former MI5 agent and is now the local country vicar.
