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Summary
Summary
Praise for Suzette A. Hill:
"I think this is tremendous."--Dame Beryl Bainbridge
Francis Oughterard was the contented vicar of Molehill when he accidentally strangled a lady parishioner. A sleazy art dealer gave him an alibi, and Maurice--his victim's cynical cat--and Bouncer--a neighbor's dog--rescued him from police suspicion. Now he is called upon to return the favor by storing stolen paintings in the church belfry. The intrigue mounts as hapless F.O. bumbles through confrontations. Maurice and Bouncer each contribute their version of events.
F.O. made his debut in A Load of Old Bones .
A graduate of the universities of Nottingham and Newcastle/Tyne, Suzette A. Hill taught English literature for many years at Reading College before retiring to Herefordshire.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Hill's delightful second mystery to feature the Rev. Francis Oughterard, the Surrey vicar is still reeling from having gotten away with the murder of one of his parishioners in 2007's A Load of Old Bones. Oughterard feels he has no choice but to agree to storing stolen artwork at the vicarage at the insistence of an old theology college classmate, Nicholas Ingaza, because Ingaza provided him with an alibi for the parishioner's murder. The plot thickens when a visiting author with plans to write a mystery about the murder insists on a thorough search of the church and belfry where the clergyman has hidden the paintings. With his usual propensity for getting involved in crime, Oughterard soon finds himself in the midst of another tangled web of deception that even his cat, Maurice, and his dog, Bouncer, can't untangle, as revealed in chapters from their points-of-view. This dry, funny British gem, with its eccentric cast of characters, will leave readers laughing and eagerly awaiting the next episode. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.
Guardian Review
A welcome return for the Rev Francis Oughterard, Bouncer the dog and Maurice the cat. Hill's second novel is set, like her first, in a Surrey village in the 1950s. Having inadvertently killed one of his more tiresome parishioners in the earlier book, Oughterard finds himself blackmailed by unfrocked cleric Nicholas Ingaza into storing stolen works of art, and having to fend off novelist and amateur sleuth Maud Tubbly Pole, who wants him to help her solve the murder case. The two animals provide a gloss on the proceedings and occasionally help out with the action. Quite why this series should be charming, astringent and witty, instead of emetically twee, I am not sure, but it is entirely delightful. Caption: article-crimecol.1 A welcome return for the Rev Francis Oughterard, Bouncer the dog and Maurice the cat. Hill's second novel is set, like her first, in a Surrey village in the 1950s.
Kirkus Review
A vicar needs the help of his pets to stay out of prison. Francis Oughterard, the vicar of Molehill, has been tormented by anxiety since he accidentally strangled one of his parishioners (A Load of Old Bones, 2008). He'd be languishing in jail if not for the timely aid of his clever cat Maurice and his playful dog Bouncer, who managed to remove evidence from the crime scene that could have led to their master's arrest. Now, however, he's being gently blackmailed by Nicholas Ingaza, the old college pal who provided his alibi. Nicholas wants the vicar to house some stolen paintings. A comedy of errors ensues as the frantic vicar moves them from the belfry to his sister's house to the church crypt. Things go from bad to worse when one of the paintings turns up at a church fundraiser and is purchased by a parishioner. Fortunately for the vicar, the buyer's love of art is blissfully unaccompanied by any knowledge of art. The ever more nervous vicar tries to get the paintings out of his possession before the police discover that he's involved in a crime yet again. Maurice and Bouncer steal the show in a mildly amusing tale that lacks any real mystery. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The second entry in Hill's pet series combines an animal investigator (á la Midnight Louie), the cozy setting of Sneaky Pie Brown, and a Miss Marple-like British village mystery. Somehow, Hill manages to make it all work, with humor and appealing characters, both human and animal. Chapters alternate between The Vicar's Version, The Dog's Diary, and The Cat's Memoir. Francis Oughtergard (or F. O. to his pets) is a slightly manic vicar with shaky nerves and a taste for strong liquor who thinks he has a gift for funerals but not weddings. After an unfortunate incident with one of his parishioners (he killed her), F. O. ends up being forced to store some hot pictures for an old acquaintance, sending his shaky nerves into high gear and forcing him to self-medicate with cream buns and peppermint humbugs. The only drawback to this charming and engaging tale is the author's overuse of exclamation points. Recommend this series to anyone who reads cozy pet stories.--Moyer, Jessica Copyright 2008 Booklist