Book Review: Evan and Elle

Reviewed By: Carl Brookins - RAM

Evan and Elle     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Rhys Bowen
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural
Series: Constable Evans # 4
2001, Berkley Prime Crime, 212 pages

Sophisticated dining appears to be coming to Llanfair. Madame Yvette, an exotic, mysterious beauty, who can also cook, opens a French restaurant, Chez Yvette, in an abandoned chapel. She's causing quite an uproar because the men of this quaint village are attracted by her beauty and others are delighted to have available some alternative cuisine. But then there's a fire, and a body turns up in the ashes. The mystery deepens as Constable Evans probes Madam Yvette's background and tries to identify the dead person. What's going on here? Considerably more than meets the eye, one can be sure. Added to the mix is a developing competition between two local ministers desperate to enlarge or at least maintain their congregations. The conflicts between the solid, entertaining Constable Evans and his superiors continues, leavening the seriousness of the main story.

Author Rhys Bowen, totally in control of her characters and her rich Welsh environment, just keeps producing finely writ traditional mysteries that are highly entertaining and engaging. She has created a world in which there are no false steps. Every character throughout the series is true to their heritage and their situation as created by this author. There are no extraneous words, no wanderings into dead-ends, into useless or aberrant paths. This is traditional mystery writing at its finest.

Carl Brookins - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Carl Brookins - RAM

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