A priest receives a poison pen letter threatening to expose a sin long past. He turns for help to David Middleton-Brown, who must face his own hidden desires and dark dreams before he can uncover the truth at St. Anne's in this superb novel of suspense.
A Drink of Deadly Wine
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Mixing sex and and ecclesiastics in her complex first mystery, Charles generally steers clear of sentimentality, although she comes dangerously close. The much-admired Father Gabriel Neville of St. Anne's, in London's Kensington Gardens, is a noted scholar and gifted orator. Outwardly a model minister--he is husband of Emily and father of exquisitely beautiful young twin daughters--Gabriel has a secret past that someone in the parish has discovered and threatened to reveal. In a desperate move, Gabriel asks David Middleton-Brown, a lover whom he abandoned for Emily 10 years earlier, to try to discover the author of the anonymous note. Ostensibly brought to the parish to guide the church's architectural repairs, David learns secrets over cups of tea. He also finds a semblance of passion activated, after a forlorn decade of near-celibacy, by Emily's chum Lucy. But David's investigation falters, a local gossip dies and the threat of revelations from Gabriel's past, seen to include the death of a youth, gains momentum. Ultimately we care more for characters than for the crime here; the Lucy/David quasi-affair is handled with tender finesse, and Gabriel hovers over the proceedings like a latter-day Dorian Gray, losing innocence with each new revelation.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent (non-murder) mystery!,
By
This review is from: A Drink of Deadly Wine (Book of Psalms Mystery) (Hardcover)
What I liked most about this mystery is that Kate Charles doesn't confine herself to the murder mystery genre; the original mystery is, rather, about blackmail. (Though a dead body does eventually show up.)
The first few pages are hard to get through, for in the beginning Father Gabriel Neville is not at all a sympathetic character. This book is full of Anglican "characters" who are flawed and therefore pretty believable and engaging. I look forward to reading the other David Middleton-Brown books!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Drink of Deadly Wine,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A Drink of Deadly Wine (Book of Psalms Mystery) (Hardcover)
I found it very refreshing and the author knows well the Anglican or
Church of England liturgy. Excellent read and well thought out plot.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not my cup of tea.,
By decency1st (CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Drink of Deadly Wine (Kindle Edition)
If homosexuality is your cup of tea then you might not mind this story. I was hoping it wasn't going in that direction, but I was afraid it was and it did. I'm always on the lookout for clean Agatha Christie type mystery stories, unfortunately this wasn't one.
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First Sentence:
In the moment of expectant pause before the entry of the procession, Emily looked up her prayers. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
blackmail letter, crypt chapel, vicarage garden, sacristy door, ledger sheet, north porch Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Lady Constance, Mavis Conwell, Miles Taylor, Peter Maitland, Venerable Bead, Beryl Ball, Mary Hughes, Miss Somers, Tony Kent, Our Lady, Roger Dawson, Cyril Fitzjames, Father Gabriel, Kensington Gardens, Father Neville, Lucy Kingsley, Julia Dawson, Norman Newsome, Gabriel Neville, Selby Cathedral, Cecily Framlingham, Church of England, David Middleton-Brown, Good Lord, Teresa Dawson New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In the moment of expectant pause before the entry of the procession, Emily looked up her prayers. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
blackmail letter, crypt chapel, vicarage garden, sacristy door, ledger sheet, north porch Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Lady Constance, Mavis Conwell, Miles Taylor, Peter Maitland, Venerable Bead, Beryl Ball, Mary Hughes, Miss Somers, Tony Kent, Our Lady, Roger Dawson, Cyril Fitzjames, Father Gabriel, Kensington Gardens, Father Neville, Lucy Kingsley, Julia Dawson, Norman Newsome, Gabriel Neville, Selby Cathedral, Cecily Framlingham, Church of England, David Middleton-Brown, Good Lord, Teresa Dawson New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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