Bones
in the Belfry
A
Francis Oughterard Mystery
Suzette
A. Hill
Soho
Constable (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-510-5 (1569475105)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-510-2 (9781569475102)
Publication Date: August 2008
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): 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.
Review:
Bones
in the Belfry is the second
book (episode?) by Suzette A. Hill to feature the adventures of Francis
Oughterard, vicar of St. Botolph's in the small English town of
Molehill, Surrey, his dog Bouncer, and his ever-so-proper cat Maurice.
The British editions of this book are alternately subtitled An
Unfortunate Case of a Lost Masterpiece or The Case of the Vicar and the
Missing Masterpiece.
The story takes place in 1958 and picks up following the events of the
first book in the series, A Load of Old Bones. F.O. (as Bouncer and
Maurice refer to him) continues to fear the day he may be exposed for
killing his troublesome parishioner Elizabeth Fotherington in Foxford
Wood. An old school mate, Nicholas Ingaza, had given him an alibi and
now he wants a favor in return: for F.O. to temporarily store a couple
of paintings at the vicarage. It turns out, of course, the paintings
had been stolen, are considered very valuable, and their disappearance
are actively being investigated by the authorities. When a certain
mystery writer, Mrs. Tubbly Pole, turns up in town to write a fictional
version of the unsolved murder in Foxford Wood, F.O. tries to divert
her. But she wants to get a sense of the area, including the belfry
where the stolen paintings are being stored, so F.O. moves the
paintings to his sister's house where she promptly (and inadvertently)
gives one away. Mischief and mayhem ensue as F.O. tries to retrieve the
painting, deal with ever so inquisitive Mrs. Tubbly Pole, and return
his life to relative normalcy.
Bones
in the Belfry is a quirky,
engaging, and utterly charming book. It is not necessary to read the
prior book to appreciate how the vicar came to be in his current
situation. The dog and cat (who each have their own points of view
expressed here) fill the reader in on the backstory. But classifying
this story as a mystery is a bit of a stretch. There are few, if any,
of the standard elements that typically characterize a novel as a
mystery.
The narrative is intelligent and witty and every so often bordering on
the absurd but always a delight to read. The three points of view are
clearly complementary with the vicar giving his (often emotional)
version of events and the cat and dog providing their (often more
objective) take. The author wisely doesn't give the animals any more
credit to do more than they can; for example, they cannot read or
manipulate objects in the way humans can. But they are observant and
their perspective on the activities of their master is both
entertaining and insightful.
Hill is clearly planning a multi-part series of books here with the
final sentence of Bones in the Belfry
setting the stage for the next in the series. Based solely on the
sequence of events presented here, it's a book worth looking forward to.
Special thanks to Soho Press for providing an ARC of Bones in the Belfry for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Bones in the Belfry? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
A Load of
Old Bones
Avalon (Hardcover), June 2007
ISBN-10: 0-7867-1966-4 (0786719664)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7867-1966-2 (9780786719662)
Bones in the Belfry
Soho Constable (Hardcover), August 2008
ISBN-10: 1-56947-510-5 (1569475105)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-510-2 (9781569475102)
Omnimystery
keywords for Bones in the Belfry
...
Location(s) referenced: Surrey, England.
