Having spent almost three years in the idyllic village of Nether Monkslip, Max Tudor is well acclimated to his post as vicar at the church of St. Edwold's. This quaint town seems to be the perfect new home for Max, who has fled a harrowing past serving in the British counter-intelligence agency, the MI5. Now he has found a measure of peace among urban escapees and yoga practitioners, artists and New Agers. But this serenity is quickly shattered when the highly vocal and unpopular president of the Women's Institute turns up dead at the Harvest Fayre. The death looks like an accident, but Max's training as a former agent kicks in, and before long he suspects foul play. Max has ministered to the community long enough to be familiar with alliances and animosities among the residents, but this tragedy confounds him. It is impossible to believe anyone in his lovely hamlet capable of the crime, and yet given the victim, he must acknowledge that almost everyone in town had probably fantasized about the poor woman's death. As Max becomes more intricately involved, the investigation stirs up memories he'd rather not revisit; the demons from his past which led him to Nether Monkslip and the reason why he is so heavily invested in keeping it from harm.
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"Malliet has mastered the delights of the cozy mystery so completely that she seems to be channeling Agatha Christie... [with] ironic humor that contribute[s] a little spice to the village charm, making the story even more delicious. Religion, espionage, tea, and crumpets: a winning menu." --"Booklist, "starred review "Agatha Award-winning author Malliet ("Death of a Cozy Writer") debuts a superb new series... You'll marvel at the author's low-key humor and crystal-clear depictions of small-town life... Malliet, like Louise Penny, brings a contemporary freshness to the traditional mystery."
--"Library Journal, "starred review "Hugely funny, exquisitely well written, "Wicked Autumn "is a tongue-in-cheek village mystery to be savored. G.M. Malliet's arch tone and wry humor make her a writer to be treasured."
--Julia Spencer-Fleming, bestselling author of ONE WAS A SOLDIER
"A superb novel! Filled with humor and insight, G.M. Malliet creates a fabulous setting in Nether Monkslip and a great series hero in Father Max Tudor. Rarely have I read descriptions that have left me gasping, in both their hilarity and their painful truth. A wonderful read." --Louise Penny, Agatha award-winning author of the Armand Gamache mysteries
"""One of the most delightful English village mysteries I've read since Agatha Christie stopped writing about Saint Mary Mead. G.M. Malliet's sly allusions to both Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot will make Christie fans chuckle, but Nether Monkslip is no village that time forgot--not with its new age citizenry and a vicar who's a dishy ex-MI5. Highly recommended."
--Margaret Maron, Edgar, Anthony, Agatha winner, and author of CHRISTMAS MOURNING
"A contemporary and deliciously wicked homage to Agatha Christie's village mysteries, with an equally delicious hero who is infinitely sexier than Miss Marple. Once readers meet handsome, intelligent, witty MI5 spy-turned-Anglican priest Max Tudor, they'll be searching their maps for
--"Library Journal, "starred review "Hugely funny, exquisitely well written, "Wicked Autumn "is a tongue-in-cheek village mystery to be savored. G.M. Malliet's arch tone and wry humor make her a writer to be treasured."
--Julia Spencer-Fleming, bestselling author of ONE WAS A SOLDIER
"A superb novel! Filled with humor and insight, G.M. Malliet creates a fabulous setting in Nether Monkslip and a great series hero in Father Max Tudor. Rarely have I read descriptions that have left me gasping, in both their hilarity and their painful truth. A wonderful read." --Louise Penny, Agatha award-winning author of the Armand Gamache mysteries
"""One of the most delightful English village mysteries I've read since Agatha Christie stopped writing about Saint Mary Mead. G.M. Malliet's sly allusions to both Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot will make Christie fans chuckle, but Nether Monkslip is no village that time forgot--not with its new age citizenry and a vicar who's a dishy ex-MI5. Highly recommended."
--Margaret Maron, Edgar, Anthony, Agatha winner, and author of CHRISTMAS MOURNING
"A contemporary and deliciously wicked homage to Agatha Christie's village mysteries, with an equally delicious hero who is infinitely sexier than Miss Marple. Once readers meet handsome, intelligent, witty MI5 spy-turned-Anglican priest Max Tudor, they'll be searching their maps for
About the Author
Winner of the Agatha Award for "Death of a Cozy Writer, "which initially won the Malice Domestic grant, G.M. MALLIET attended Oxford University and holds a graduate degree from the University of Cambridge, the setting for her previous series, the St. Just mysteries.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Clive A. H. Still
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Wanda Batton-Smythe, unpopular chair of the Nether Monkslip WI, is found dead in the Village Hall on the day of the annual Harvest Fayre. Nobody (except possibly her husband) liked her but who hated her enough to kill her? The amateur sleuth, friend of D.C.I. Cotton, is Max Tudor, ex-MI5 operative but now parish priest of St Ewold's.
The solution depends on a late-introduced witness statement and a lot of the character seems stock rather than original but Max Tudor is a strong and interesting hero, the village is well-drawn and this is an enjoyable escapist read.
The American spelling and vocabulary is jarring; particularly as this is meant to be a British cozy and loses the book the four stars it would otherwise have earned.
The solution depends on a late-introduced witness statement and a lot of the character seems stock rather than original but Max Tudor is a strong and interesting hero, the village is well-drawn and this is an enjoyable escapist read.
The American spelling and vocabulary is jarring; particularly as this is meant to be a British cozy and loses the book the four stars it would otherwise have earned.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By R. Larkin
Format:Paperback
As the first in an intended series, quite a bit of this book was devoted to a leisurely set-up so thorough that a careful reader could find his way if dropped suddenly into the center of the village, and could probably recognize many of the characters on the street. No map is necessary (although one would have been delightful.) The cast of characters is listed, so we can probably expect to meet most of them in subsequent books - unless they're killed off first.
Although the lanes are still narrow and some of the buildings may lean a little, Nether Monkslip has had a bit of an update since the days of the traditional cozy. Most of the businesses in town do a brisk internet business in items from antiques to hand-knitted designer sweaters to marzipan candies. Father Max, the new Vicar, formerly of MI5, thought he had found an idyllic place to scrub away the memories that still haunted him.
Of course every pudding has its lumps, and Nether Monkslip's is wealthy Wanda Batton-Smythe, formidable self-appointed Leader of the Community and head of the Womens' Institute. As the book opens, she is busily planning the Harvest Fayre; perfectly sure of how it should be run, running roughshod over any and all other opinions. Are we unbearably surprised when she shows up dead in the midst of the Fayre?
This is an enjoyable fair-play spoof on the mysteries of the Golden Age, with occasional flashes of well placed laugh-out-loud humor. I was a little concerned at how much of Max's past the author revealed in this first book; will he continue to be as intriguing with his angst out of the bag (at least to the reader), so to speak?
I will certainly read the next book to find out.
ETA: The author has provided a charming online map of Nether Monkslip. Google it for a complete classic cozy experience.
Although the lanes are still narrow and some of the buildings may lean a little, Nether Monkslip has had a bit of an update since the days of the traditional cozy. Most of the businesses in town do a brisk internet business in items from antiques to hand-knitted designer sweaters to marzipan candies. Father Max, the new Vicar, formerly of MI5, thought he had found an idyllic place to scrub away the memories that still haunted him.
Of course every pudding has its lumps, and Nether Monkslip's is wealthy Wanda Batton-Smythe, formidable self-appointed Leader of the Community and head of the Womens' Institute. As the book opens, she is busily planning the Harvest Fayre; perfectly sure of how it should be run, running roughshod over any and all other opinions. Are we unbearably surprised when she shows up dead in the midst of the Fayre?
This is an enjoyable fair-play spoof on the mysteries of the Golden Age, with occasional flashes of well placed laugh-out-loud humor. I was a little concerned at how much of Max's past the author revealed in this first book; will he continue to be as intriguing with his angst out of the bag (at least to the reader), so to speak?
I will certainly read the next book to find out.
ETA: The author has provided a charming online map of Nether Monkslip. Google it for a complete classic cozy experience.
By bookaholic
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the first title I've read by this author and I enjoyed it. I look forward to others in the series. An unusual hero i.e. an exMI6 operative now a vicar but I think it works.
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