- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: ISIS Publishing; Large Print edition edition (Nov 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 075316356X
- ISBN-13: 978-0753163566
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,877,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Peter Lovesey's The Reaper, winner of the 2000 CWA/Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, is an extremely clever, exquisitely written story of a murderous rector who manages to earn a great deal of our sympathy while dramatically whittling down his flock in the Wiltshire village of Foxford. "If you knew Marcus Glastonbury, you would not expect him to appreciate anything out of the ordinary", Lovesey tells us right away about the local bishop who comes to chastise the handsome young rector for cooking the books at his last parish. And indeed, Bishop Glastonbury is no match for the Reverend Otis Joy, a wickedly intelligent serial killer (the bishop becomes his second victim, framed to look like a suicide and a sex pervert) who also happens to be a crackerjack priest. That's why the good folk of Foxford, especially the women, find it hard to swallow the gossip about Reverend Joy that gradually builds up like a winter ground fog. One local housewife, Rachel Jansen, who surprises the rector naked under an apron while he cleans up after killing the bishop, becomes such a strong supporter that she risks losing not only her life but also her immortal soul. Lovesey deftly plants deceptive clues and raises false hopes about Reverend Joy's fate, all the while painting a picture of a town and a church congregation so real that they leap off the page.--Alex Freeman
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Reaper is a chilling tale of murder amidst the tea and cakes of the Wiltshire countryside. Villagers in Foxford are shaken by the news of their bishop's unexpected "suicide" in a "leap of shame" following revelations linking him with a certain Madam Swish.
Luckily, the brilliantly named Reverend Otis Joy "young, still in his twenties, and wicked" is on hand to deliver a few well-chosen words to the mourners. Foxford's female parishioners are thoroughly charmed by Joy who bears more than a passing resemblance to "the young Harrison Ford". Unfortunately, the reverend is unquestionably wicked. He dispatches his victims with casual aplomb and, for a man with a calling, shows a surprising lack of remorse "after a wedding rehearsal in the church--but before the rigor mortis set in--Joy returned to the rectory, his pastoral duties over for the day". Initially at least he is above suspicion, after all "nobody expects the priest to slip them poison in the communion wine". However, a second untimely death sets the village rumour mill in motion. Tension rises as more deaths follow.
The Reaper is a clever and engrossing thriller which proves once again that Peter Lovesey is worthy of his Cartier diamond dagger award. --Sarah Crawford --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Otis Joy, that is. The rector or Foxford. And a more noteworthy and flamboyant man of the cloth you wouldn't wish to meet. But I'm not going to give away any of the plot of this intriguing book. Don't you just hate it when reviewers tell you the story?
I'm in two minds whether Lovesey's 'other' novels are better than the Peter Diamond series. After reading 'Dead Gorgeous', also by Lovesey, and unable to put it down (definitely his best novel, though this is an award winner), I had to read the rest of his stuff and this magnificent tale has one major, appalling disappointment. You come to the end. And often in the small hours when you've got to be up for work at seven... There should be a health warning printed on the cover of his books.
What's so extraordinary about Lovesey is the fluency of his writing, especially the dialogue. His characters live and breathe, and you're with them all the way to the last page. If, like me, you're into such things, you'll find that the weaving of the different strands of the story, the pacing and the plotting are just about flawless. And in 'The Reaper' even more than a few laughs, too.
So, do yourself a huge favour, and get this. Turn off the tube for once (yes, you do watch too much crap), get a glass or a mug of your fave beverage, and be thoroughly entertained by a true master. Just remember to have a good excuse when you phone in sick because you didn't get to bed till three in the morning...
I'm in two minds whether Lovesey's 'other' novels are better than the Peter Diamond series. After reading 'Dead Gorgeous', also by Lovesey, and unable to put it down (definitely his best novel, though this is an award winner), I had to read the rest of his stuff and this magnificent tale has one major, appalling disappointment. You come to the end. And often in the small hours when you've got to be up for work at seven... There should be a health warning printed on the cover of his books.
What's so extraordinary about Lovesey is the fluency of his writing, especially the dialogue. His characters live and breathe, and you're with them all the way to the last page. If, like me, you're into such things, you'll find that the weaving of the different strands of the story, the pacing and the plotting are just about flawless. And in 'The Reaper' even more than a few laughs, too.
So, do yourself a huge favour, and get this. Turn off the tube for once (yes, you do watch too much crap), get a glass or a mug of your fave beverage, and be thoroughly entertained by a true master. Just remember to have a good excuse when you phone in sick because you didn't get to bed till three in the morning...
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is only my second Peter Lovesey book but I really enjoyed it. The plot was very different to recent books I have read. Rather than a who-dunnit, it was we know who did it but will be get caught, and in some ways hoping he didn't!
Well worth a read and I shall now decide on my third Peter Lovesey.
Well worth a read and I shall now decide on my third Peter Lovesey.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
To the reader from Leeds and Bradford, you have indeed missed something in Peter Lovesey's earlier books. However, you haven't missed perhaps the best story of his entertaining career. I've been reading him from "Wobble to death" (highly recommended) and this story of the wicked vicar is superlative. Otis Joy isn't an anti hero, he is just splendidly self-obsessed and wicked, sharp as a tack and gloriously amoral in a tender, caring sort of way. I can't say any more, its one of those books where a slight hint becomes a spoiler. Please just make sure you don't miss this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Why didn't I discover Peter Lovesey sooner?
This is my second Lovesey - I read, and enjoyed, Wobble to Death last week, having picked it up second-hand without really thinking what I was getting. Read more
Published 7 months ago by NickR
Otis Joy is a real joy
A quiet Wiltshire village has a spate of sudden deaths - are they connected and could it be murder? How does popular (with the ladies) vicar Otis Joy come into it? Read more
Published 15 months ago by C. Wilson
An aptly named clergyman
Otis Joy is a very popular clergyman in a rural parish. But even from the first page of this book the reader knows he is not a normal clergyman. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Damaskcat
A Black Comedy
A difficult book to catagorise, this - a quote on the back cover describes it as a 'black comedy' which is about right given the book's light tone. Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2008 by P. Rees
The Reaper
The Reverend Otis Joy is handsome, polite and charming. He is friendly to the neighbours and plays Scrabble with the village policeman but Joy has a dark secret, he is a murderer... Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2003
Not one of his best
I love Peter Lovesey's books and was eagerly looking forard to this one, but have to confess to being rather disappointed; One of the things that makes Lovesey a pleasure to read... Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2001
A ONE SITTING READ!
I have not read anything by Peter Lovesey before but if this book is anything to go by I have been missing an excellent author. Read more
Published on 19 May 2000
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