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EVANLY CHOIRS
by Rhys Bowen
St. Martin's Minotaur, May 1999
256 pages
$22.95
ISBN: 0312205392


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

All of Llanfair is abuzz with the news: Ifor Llewellyn, the famous opera singer, will be living in town for the summer. His doctor has ordered him to take it easy, and where better to do so than Llanfair, the small, close-knit town in North Wales where Ifor lived as a child? There is even talk of getting the singer to help the local men's choir with their music for the upcoming eisteddfod, a traditional Welsh musical competition. Llanfair police constable Evan Evans, who has just been talked into joining the choir to beef up the baritone section, privately thinks that even Ifor Llewellyn can't better their chances of success. But shortly before the eisteddfod, in which Ifor has agreed to sing, the singer is found dead in his rented house, and once again Evan finds himself involved in a murder investigation.

I enjoy Rhys Bowen's Constable Evans stories because of the Welsh setting, and this book (the third in the series) was especially interesting because it shines a spotlight on the eisteddfod, long an important part of Welsh culture. As Bowen describes the event, it is something like a county fair crossed with music and poetry competitions. The choral music and the bardic poetry recitations are the focal point of the festival. I also like the setting of Llanfair, where all the natives speak Welsh and residents are known by their occupations. Evan Evans is called

Evans-the-Law, to distinguish him from Evans-the-Meat, Evans-the-Post and Evans-the-Milk -- the butcher, mailman and milkman, respectively. Bowen also evocatively describes the scenery of North Wales, making the surrounding mountains, lakes and mist a part of her story.

The mystery in this installment was pretty straightforward; there were only a few likely suspects, and I figured out how the murder had been set up early on. Still, the characters in the book are engaging. I found them quirky but, for the most part, believable. I can't help feeling, though, that Evan should be a little less wishy-washy about his feelings for Bronwen Price, the local teacher. He has been attracted to her since the beginning of the series, but he can't seem to decide if he wants to pursue her. Bowen does, however, provide a bit of an explanation for Evan's attitude in this book. All in all, a light, enjoyable mystery.

Reviewed by Kathleen Chappell, October 2002

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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