This is the second book in the Father Selwyn and Sister Agatha series by Jane Willan. It’s set in North Wales in a small village and revolves around the lives of an abbey of Anglican nuns and their vicar, Father Selwyn. One nun in particular, Sister Agatha, is obsessed with murder mysteries. She’s a mystery writer in what small amount of spare time she has. Or she can be found discussing the latest case with her longtime friend, Father Selwyn. I hadn’t read the first book, but I definitely intend to! I like these characters a lot!
My Goodreads review:
The Hour of Death by Jane Willan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the first I’ve read in this series, but I didn’t feel lost or confused when it came to the characters. They were well-explained without going into much of the first story or giving any spoilers out.
I really enjoyed the characters of Sister Agatha and her friend Father Selwyn. It was like a Welsh version of the Father Dowling Mysteries from the 80s, only Sister is older in this and I would say Father is a bit younger than Father Dowling. The nuns are all so cool–they have cell phones and text each other, even the Reverend Mother and Father Selwyn. I didn’t know there even were such things as Anglican nuns, so I learned a little bit about that as well. They even had a tenant as a way to make extra money, an American girl Lucy, who was there to concentrate on her art, but as many of the people in the mystery, she has a secret.
A prominent parishioner was killed right after Lucy gave a talk to the Art Society. Sister Agatha couldn’t resist investigating when the death was ruled natural. I really got a kick out of her investigation methods. She was a big fan of Agatha Christie of course, as well as Stephanie Plum and Jessica Fletcher, plus some British TV detectives. It was kind of hilarious when they turned the kindergarten Sunday School room into an incident room complete with a murder board.
The mystery was well-written and plotted. I wasn’t really sure until the very end when all the clues pointed to someone who the killer really was. There were some really good red herrings and plot twists going on. The ending was just a very heartwarming Christmas conclusion. I kind of hope that the character of Lucy sticks around awhile. In the meantime, I want to read the first book which I discovered I have on my Kindle.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery 