In the sleepy English parish of Champton, Canon Daniel Clement strives for quiet stability—sharing the rectory with his headstrong widowed mother, Audrey, and their two dachshunds, Cosmo and Hilda. His plan to modernize the church by installing a simple lavatory unexpectedly fractures the community, igniting divisions that unearth long-buried resentments and old rivalries.
Tensions reach a breaking point when the body of Anthony Bowness—cousin to the church’s patron—is discovered stabbed in the neck with pruning shears, discreetly hidden at the rear of the church. This gruesome discovery shocks the parish and triggers a cascade of fearful gossip, wary glances, and whispered suspicions. Canon Clement suddenly finds himself thrust into the heart of a murder investigation, struggling to shield his flock from betrayal and paranoia.
With the local police moving in and pressure mounting, Daniel becomes Champton’s anchor—the only one capable of holding the community together while daring to unmask the murderer. Utilizing his pastoral insight, gentle humor, and deep knowledge of parish life, he navigates a minefield of secrets. Beneath the surface of Sunday services and tea-time chatter lies a web of jealousy, hidden motivations, and unexpected alliances.
As bodies begin to pile up and secrets unravel, every parishioner emerges as a potential suspect—from the improvised schemers to the quietly resentful. Even the most mundane rituals—like vestry meetings or fines for gardening mishaps—carry new meaning, and nothing in Champton is taken at face value anymore. Every smile, every offer of comfort, becomes loaded with suspicion and the fear that the killer might be standing right beside you.
Murder Before Evensong is a delightfully sharp, cozy crime drama that mingles dark humor with pastoral charm and escalating suspense. It’s a story of how even the gentlest communities hide the sharpest secrets—and how one kind-hearted priest must play detective, confidant, and peacemaker all at once to save his home from descending into chaos.