Bones in the Belfry

by Suzette Hill

Overview

The Rev. Francis Oughterard finds he's plunged into the trauma of art theft. But not only that - there's terrifying female novelist and amateur sleuth Maud Tubbly Pole to deal with, intent on investigative probings, conducted in the company of her gin-drinking bulldog.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780332482
Publisher:	Little, Brown Book Group
Publication date:	01/19/2012
Pages:	290
Sales rank:	646,589
Product dimensions:	5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x 0.61(d)

About the Author

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. She is the author of A Load of Old Bones, the first novel featuring FO.

Editorial Reviews

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.)

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Publishers Weekly

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.

Kirkus Reviews