In 1810, young Tobias Campion arrives to take his position as the parson of a small countryside parrish in Warwickshire. Because his belongings have been delayed, he stays with his distant cousin, the Lady Elham, where he is forced to intervene when one of her son's drunken friends attack a young maid. The girl is Lizzie Woodman, gentle and stunningly beautiful. Campion, his loyal groom and a local swain are smitten by her.
We know in a brief prologue that someone is dead, but we don't know who or why or when. Much of the first part of the book is spent setting things up. Campion has come from an extremely privileged background and has to make adjustments living on his small salary. He's also exposed to the poor of the parrish, living in earth-floored cottages if they are lucky and huts worse than animal pens if they are not--and is shocked at their deprivation. He befriends the local doctor, Hansard, a traveled man who became rich abroad but who gambled most of his money away. Campion attempts to make the lives of the poor of his parrish a bit less miserable, giving sermons on charity and trying to teach the children to read. These things do not sit well with many who believe in the status quo and people keeping to their proper place in life.
Then there are deaths... One that is determined to be either an accident or due to health problems, but which is still troubling. Then another that is obviously murder. There is an obvious suspect... a young man who likes killing animals. But can they find him and prove it? By they-- I mean Campion and his man with the help of Dr. Hansard, who have personal reasons to be looking in on the murder(s).
Campion is a sympathetic character, worldly in some ways, but also young and idealistic. The older Dr. Hansard is both teacher and companion. There are convincing details of daily life and local politics. The mystery is not bad. There are some nice twists, although I actually could spot the killer before the end (something I'm ordinarily not adept at). Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. I will eagerly look for the next in the series and may check into other books by this author.
