Customer Reviews

Evans to Betsy (Constable Evans Mysteries)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the heart of North Wales lies the small bucolic village of Llanfair, a quiet quaint place where everyone knows everyone else and crime is practically non-existent. However when a murder does occur, it is local constable Evan Evans rather than CID who always solves the case. The town is peaceful now but events are happening at the nearby Grove Center for Healing Arts and Celtic Spirituality that will draw Evan into the biggest case of his career.

It begins when an American girl, last seen working at the Sacred Grove is reported missing by her frantic parents. When Evan starts asking questions he's told that the girl quit and took off with almost no notice. Then the director of the center, a famous American psychic married to the owner of the property, is murdered. Evan is asked by the CID team to help out, which he gladly does though his main concern is a local girl named Betsy who quit her local job as a bartender to work at the cushy center. He senses she's in danger but by the time he figures out who the killer is, Betsy is already in the perp's clutches.

The Evan Evans mystery series is quaint, colorful and thoroughly enjoyable reading, so much so that one can hope this series never ends. The mystery is cleverly crafted with many sub-plots tying neatly into the main story line but it is the hero and recurring characters that make EVANS TO BETSY a very special novel. Each in his or her own way makes an indelible impression so that the reader feels as if old friends have come for a visit.

Harriet Klausner

Do you remember M.C. Beaton's "Hamish" series? If you enjoyed that, you will enjoy Rhys Bowen's "Evans" series. Like Hamish, Evans is a policeman in an out-of-the way village (this one in Wales) who has a sharp eye, an even sharper mind and an intuitive understanding of human strengths and frailties. He is not without his own frailties, either - confusion about the opposite sex being one of them, and his misadventures in this area add colour to the story.

The writer handles the setting deftly, managing to blend the ancient Druid culture, the recent history and current feelings in Wales with the immediacy of the New Age centre where much of the action takes place.

This is an easy read. Visiting with Evans and Bronwen and Betsy is like a weekend in the country - you kick back and relax. The main plot and sub-plots fit together neatly and the rivalry between the two chapels (which has nothing to do with anything except getting the feeling of place spot on) brings back fond memories of a stay in Wales.

There isn't a huge amount of dramatic tension here - you wouldn't expect it in a cozy - and I enjoyed the one dramatic climax when our hero, at great personal risk, manages to rescue, not the free world, not life as we know it, not even the maiden in distress, but a rabbit. Lovely!

It's a slow afternoon in the Red Dragon when American Emmy Court walks in. She's an American working on her doctoral degree on psychic powers in the Celts. After a few minutes conversation, she believes that Betsy, the barmaid, is a perfect candidate and takes her off to the Sacred Grove, a nearby New Age center, to be tested.

Constable Evan Evans, meanwhile, is trying to prove to himself and Bronwen that he can survive on his own and has moved across the street from Mrs. Williams. At work, a search for a missing American college student takes him to the Sacred Grove. Something doesn't feel right. He doesn't believe in Betsy's new found powers, either. Until she shows up at his house in the middle of the night claiming to have a vision - that leads to a very dead body. Does Betsy have powers? More importantly, who committed the murder?

I've come to rely on these books for a comforting trip to a simple village that holds lots of mystery and intrigue. This book was no exception. Ms. Bowen is still at the top of her game, with a book that twists all over the place. I had no clue where this book was going until near the end, and couldn't put it down. The characters are fun, and the numerous sub-plots keep things moving quickly. I especially enjoyed Evans-the-Post and his new motorbike. Naturally, Betsy gets developed quite a bit here, and it's nice to see one of the secondary characters get a bit of the spotlight.

If you enjoy a very charming setting and characters with intriguing plots, this series is for you. Pick up the first, EVANS ABOVE, and sit back and enjoy.

I purchased as replacements the whole series because they are all worn out from loaning to other people that I recomended them to read.

Oh boy, big difference between this book and the one I just read and reviewed negatively. I really enjoyed this. It was going back in style to the great Agatha Christie stories, and other good British mystery authors who entertain with their dry sense of humor and tongue-in-cheek writing. And even better, is the books take place in an area of the world I am not familiar with, and it sounds so beautiful, I just would love to visit it. WAles sounds like the perfect place for fairies and Camelots, and young constables who don't take the world too seriously...even if it is serious business he is dealing with. He knows just how to handle it in such a way as to leave the reader wanting to meet this young man and shake his hand.

Bowen fills her pages with the beauty of the land, and the colorful languages, and the people with character of their own that would do battle just fine with any Scotch or Irish characters that come along. In fact, they would probably excell them in their excentricities!

Leave it to us Americans to import some type of New Age namby-pamby that ends up hiding a mystery, leaving constable Evans to clean up his little community again as well as dealing with the usual set of problems of a young man setting up housekeeping and learning to cook for himself. And Constable Evans has more than his fair share of young women eyeing him for their own purposes, and dealing with the problems the drag themselves into in order to get his attention.

Wonderful book, going to get some more by Rhys Bowen. Love the name...what's it's meaning?

Karen Sadler

How did I guess the murderer in the middle of the book? I think it was the pattern that tipped me off. The accent was not at all an obstacle and in fact I enjoyed it. Betsy had just enough psychic powers to make it believable... I would have liked to have held my breath more though. All in all... the outcome was very agreeable to me.

Her books are really well written and atmospheric.