The Reaper [Paperback]

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

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.

'Larky and deft; very funny, too.' LITERARY REVIEW 'No one has done this kind of thing better since Dorothy L. Sayers' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'One of the very best of the current generation of crime writers' EVENING STANDARD

'No one has done this kind of thing better since Dorothy L. Sayers'

'One of the very best of the current generation of crime writers'

Otis Joy is a very good vicar - he's attracted record-breaking congregations, his parishioners admire and respect him, and the village of Foxford is very content with its lot. What the citizens of Foxford don't realise is that their beloved parish priest is a murderer. Joy had managed to convince his treasurer to channel a proportion of church funds into his own bank account, and when his bishop queries this arrangement Joy kills him - after all, such a trifling misdemeanour should not prevent him from carrying out his duties. However, it isn't the first time he's despatched 'busy-bodies' and rumours are beginning to circulate, so that when the husband of his new treasurer is found dead it looks as though he's taken one life too many. Peter Lovesey amply demonstrates that he is the acknowledged master of the whodunnit in this deliciously complicated and satisfying mystery.

Peter Lovesey is the award winning creator of three outstanding detective series - those featuring Sergeant Cribb, Bertie, Prince of Wales, and most recently Peter Diamond. He has won both the Gold and Silver Daggers.