Clara’s Verdict
Richard Coles is, by any measure, one of the more unusual people to have written a murder mystery series. Former member of The Communards, ordained priest, Radio 4 stalwart, and now — in his Canon Clement books — a genuine contributor to the cosy crime genre. The second instalment, A Death in the Parish, is both funnier and more emotionally serious than the first, which is an interesting combination to pull off. It manages it. The murder mystery plotting is sound, the village atmosphere is lovingly rendered, and the ecclesiastical politics are drawn with the insider knowledge of someone who has actually sat through a Parochial Church Council meeting.
The narrator is billed as « Canon Clement » rather than a named performer — an unusual but rather charming choice that honours the immersive fiction of the series.
About the Audiobook
A Death in the Parish is the second book in the Canon Clement Mysteries series, running to 8 hours and 25 minutes and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in June 2023. A few months have passed since the murder that tore through Champton, and Canon Daniel Clement is attempting to steady his flock while managing the administrative upheaval of a parish merger with the villages of Upper and Lower Badsaddle — a merger that carries all the low-level acrimony such institutional changes reliably generate.
But the real problem is Audrey, Daniel’s mother. Headstrong, fearless, and clearly concealing something significant, Audrey’s subplot provides much of the novel’s comedy and some of its genuine emotional weight. Coles writes mothers with evident affection and considerable accuracy. Then — because this is a murder mystery — murder returns, this time in the form of a ritualistic killing that raises the stakes considerably.
The book is longer to arrive at its violence than some genre readers prefer, but the time is well spent. Coles is building a community, and communities take time to render properly. The payoff, when it comes, is all the more effective for that patience.
The Narration
The choice to credit the narrator as « Canon Clement » rather than by name is an intriguing one — it suggests the text being read by its protagonist, and gives the listening experience a pleasingly unusual frame. The narration itself is warm and measured, with a natural feeling for the ecclesiastical rhythms of Daniel’s world. The comedy lands well, and the emotional moments in Audrey’s storyline are handled with sensitivity.
What Readers Say
A Death in the Parish holds a 4.2-star rating from 7 UK listeners. Veryan gave it five stars and praised the character development, noting: « I didn’t work out who the murderer was but at the reveal it made perfect sense. » James Brydon offered four stars and placed Coles in the tradition of Agatha Christie, comparing him favourably to Richard Osman while noting the particular texture of his clerical background. Emsha’s four-star review found the novel « odd » in the best sense — « very funny moments, a much larger helping of religion and some very serious musings » — and looked forward to the third instalment. The outlier, Stephen Simkiss, found it merely OK, though his three stars are outnumbered by the warmer responses.
Who Should Listen?
Fans of cosy British crime — Christie, Osman, MC Beaton — who enjoy their murder mysteries set against a background of community, church fetes, and low-grade social conflict. The Canon Clement series offers something Osman doesn’t: a protagonist with a genuine theological interior life, and a sense that faith and doubt coexist in interesting ways. Listeners who encountered Coles on Saturday Live or Strictly will find his sensibility exactly as warm and slightly eccentric as expected.
Listen to A Death in the Parish on Audible UK — and find out whether Canon Clement can solve a ritualistic murder while managing a parish merger and keeping his mother in check.
