Evanly Bodies: A Constable Evans Mystery

Rhys Bowen

Apr 2007 · Constable Evans Mysteries Book 10 · Sold by Minotaur Books

About this ebook

Evanly Bodies is a triumph for fans of Rhys Bowen's acclaimed Evans series, and a wonderful discovery for new readers.

In the surprising climax of Edgar Award finalist Bowen's tenth Constable Evans mystery, Evans risks everything to solve the murders and discover what happened to Jamila.

Detective Constable Evan Evans and his new bride, Bronwen, are settling into married life in their little cottage above the village of Llanfair when they meet the daughter of one of the village's newest families, a sixteen-year-old Pakistani girl named Jamila. Bronwen and Jamila are becoming good friends when Jamila finds out from her parents that they have arranged a marriage for her back in Pakistan. Evans tries to convince her family not to enforce the custom, arguing that Jamila is a normal Welsh teenager, but just as the tensions increase, the girl suddenly vanishes. Bronwen is distraught, but there's no trace of her.

At work, Evans is investigating the murder of a man shot to death through the open window of his home while eating breakfast. After the man's wife is jailed as a suspect, a second man is killed--and then a third--and Evans and his team are on the hunt for a serial killer. But they can't seem to find any connections between the three men....

Ratings and reviews

My Take A clash of cultures, a seemingly unrelated series of murders, a brief glimpse into the strife at the Evanses just as Evans is promoted to a new and irritating unit at work and Bronwen is struggling to adapt to a much larger school and student population with the closure of the village school, and, lastly, the tragic perspective too many still have on spousal abuse. It's adjustments for both as Evans regrets the easy back-and-forth he had enjoyed with DI Watkins and DC Davies with respect held all around and his current idiot supervisor. Bronwen has a nasty commute to school now with bigger classes and a much wider disparity in achievement levels amongst the children. On a more professional level, an unexpected intervention provides the clue which solves the greater mystery. Social issues in the village arise when a Pakistani family buys the vacant grocery store and we learn a bit about the Khans' culture. Issues which aren't helped by the belligerent attitude taken up by Mr. Khan toward the Evanses when his daughter disappears. I did enjoy the international response to distress within a family at the end. The Story They'll be needing that 4-wheel drive soon with all the trouble both Evan and Bronwen are having transporting themselves back and forth to their new cottage up the mountain--and I would suggest that Evans work on a series of paved steps to help them negotiate that slope until they can acquire such a vehicle. Luckily, Bronwen encounters Jamila Khan who helps her carry her groceries up to the cottage. Meanwhile, there's a new Chief Constable with new ideas that are shaking up the North Wales police. The typical shake-up--lovely ideas with not a great deal of thought put into it. He's eager to try out his new Major Incident Teams idea which turns out to not have been so well thought out. It's in the middle of this initial briefing that a call comes in for a murder and the first Major Incident Team goes out: DI Bragg, DS Wingate, and DCs Pritchard and Evans. Three of the men quickly find out it's more of a punishment detail but they slog through this first murder as well as the next ones. In which Bragg quickly exposes himself as a jerk who will ride his men into the dirt and take all the credit while Evans rides to the rescue and uncovers the necessary clues which connect all the dots. There's personal tragedy in the village when Jamila pours her heart out about her parents' marriage plans for her to Bronwen who takes her own frustration out on Jamila's parents. Rashid. Well, Rashid is a bit manic about his Muslim ideals and both the Khans and the Evanses become frantic when Jamila disappears--for different reasons. Parents can be amazingly blind. The first murder victim for the Major Incident team is the History Chair at the University of Wales in Bangor--Professor Martin Rogers. The second is Luigi Alessi, the proprietor of Papa Luigi's Italian restaurant. The third is Terry Owens, an unemployed machinist. There is no commonality amongst these men except death and it takes the observant Evans to sleuth it out. The Characters The newlyweds, Detective Constable Evan and Bronwen Price Evans, are settling nicely into their new cottage in which Bronwen comes to learn just what Evan meant about being a policeman's wife. DI Watkins and DC Glynis Davies have some brief encounters with Evans, particularly in regards to the missing Jamila. Watkins seems all right with Evans' promotion while Davies is a bit shirty. The new Chief Constable Mathry is quite jolly and insisting on new uniforms for the beat police and lots of sensitivity training for everyone although Mathry could use some sensitivity himself what with his referring to DC Davies as young lady and miss! The Division Commanders include Morris, Talley, and Jones. Seems Evans was suggested for the new unit by DCI Hughes. Been showing Hughes up just a bit too much

nice one

Good

About the author

RHYS BOWEN is the New York Times bestselling author of the Anthony Award- and Agatha Award-winning Molly Murphy mysteries, the Edgar Award-nominated Evan Evans series, the Royal Spyness series, and several stand-alone novels including In Farleigh Field. Born in England, she lives in San Rafael, CA.