Margaret Phillips is a powerful woman, one of the first women to become an Archdeacon. Intelligent, confident, and capable, she has reached a stage in her life where both her career and her private life are harmonious. And there's one thing she can be sure of—the love of her husband Hal. Valerie Marler, best-selling author, is in control of her fictional world and her own life as well. Beautiful, rich, and with as many men as she wants, Valerie calls the shots. Until she meets Hal Phillips, a happily married man with no interest in what she has to offer. Rosemary Finch, the vicar's wife, is neither rich nor beautiful, and her life has not been an easy one. She loves her husband, and they both adore their daughter Daisy. Then something happens that will shatter her equilibrium—she, too, meets Hal Phillips, the man Valerie Marler wants and can't have.
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Editorial Reviews
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'A bloodstained version of the world of Barbara Pym... could make one late for Evensong.' GUARDIAN 'Compulsive reading.' BIRMINGHAM POST 'The writing is elegant... to match the apparently normal little English town beneath which lurks the kind of emotion that stirred murder throughout the works of Agatha Christie.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'This is an excellent story.' CHRISTIANITY 'compelling.' CRIME TIME 'A neatly contained plot.' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW 'Thoughtful, mature and mesmerising... a mystery very reminiscent of Pym.' ALFRED HITCHCOCK MYSTERY MAGAZINE 'A stunning debut. The author... brilliantly lures the reader down one track, then another, always managing to surprise.' CHICAGO SUN TIMES 'No fireworks, no historionics. Just a tantalising unfolding, like a good story told over companiable tea-cups.' EASTERN DAILY PRESS 'Ms Charles has a unique flair... delightfully off-centre.' MAINLY MURDER 'Charles's mystery was well received when published in England, although not everybody was happy with the plot. She lost her job as a parish adminstrator in her own church, but is now devoting full-time to writing. The Church of England's loss is the mystery fan's gain.' ABILINE REPORTER-NEWS 'Charles deftly mixes religious rites and politics with her own insight into human behaviour. Discerning mystery readers pray for good books like this one.' ORLANDO SENTINEL 'There is real tenderness... in her detailed portraits of the faithful fron the sensitive student of church architecture who functions as sleuth to the dear old church biddies who arrange the flowers and spread the gossip with as much relish as the witches in Macbeth.' THE SUNDAY NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW 'Charles's characterisations are entertainingly venemous and penetrating, with just enough believable goodness to balance the equally believable evil at play.' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 'Fascinating behind the scenes cathedral politics.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'I couldn't put the book down; in her building up and sustaining of suspense, Ms Charles goes from strength to strength.' CHURCH TIMES 'A finely constructed murder plot... I had missed out on Kate Charles until now: I shall look out for her and recommend her in future.' PUBLISHING NEWS '...a page turner. For mystery readers everywhere, that means prayers are indeed answered.' HOUSTON CHRONICLE 'The complicating twists unravel with masterful skill; a real joy to read.' LIBRARY JOURNAL 'It is the first time I have come across this author, but the classic exposition of the plot of this very English whodunit, and the fast-paced story, make me want to read the other books in this series.' JERSEY EVENING POST 'With a keen eye for motivation and a thorough knowledge of church politics, the author delivers a clever, thoughtful story... Fans of Barbara Pym... should enjoy this series.' LIBRARY JOURNAL 'Charles creates marvellous characters familiar to readers of British mysteries. She is definitely a writer to read.' OHIOANA GUARTERLY 'All is answered with Charles' consummate skill. This is another satisfying and first-rate novel from her pen.' PEN AND DAGGER 'Kate Charles conveys with her usual elegane of style and form the vicissitudes of life in an English villahe and her wonderful understanding of the human heart.' KATE'S MYSTERY BOOKS NEWSLETTER 'Kate Charles writes with insight and authority... The novel manages to resonate emotionally while expoloring controversial themes with sensitivity and authenticity.' MOSTLY MURDER 'Her carefully crafted books... have enormous relevance to the world today, and are highly recommended.' BOOKNEWS FROM THE POISONED PEN 'Don't try and hurry this one, or to second guess the villain's name: it's worth a whole evening, and a second read, my award for the care-and-delight of readers.' ROCKLAND COURIER GAZETTE 'Kate Charles brings a decided elegance to the English countryside.' POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCIAL EVIDENCE 'A special treat for readers who treasure the books of Agatha Christie and P.D James, as deeply satisfying as afternoon tea by the fireplace, with a wise and witty storyteller for companionship.' HOUSTON CHRONICLE 'An absorbing, complex book worth reading.' CADS 'Here is a superior example of the modern mystery novel in which atmosphere, characterisation and setting cast an unbroken spell.' IRISH INDEPENDENT 'Long may Kate Charles write!' DEADLY PLEASURES 'Vintage village mystery buffs will adore the prissy parish spinsters, the long-suffering vicar's wife and the fortuitously dropped bits of gossip.' KIRKUS REVIEWS 'The modern ecclesiastical mystery... is a fast-growing sub-group of whodunnitry; no one is more skilled at it than Kate Charles. With the lightest of touches, she weaves the goriest murders into a convincing and provocative backdrop of clerical politics... Thoroughly entertaining, even to those of no religious bent.' THE TIMES 'Charles portrays the Church of England as more bitchy, and with more egotistic pretty boys, than a Julian Clary lookalike convention. Shades of Agatha Christie machinations, but with rather more attention to character.' YORKSHIRE POST 'It takes someone with the skill of Kate Charles to remind us that murder among the middle classes can be just as chilling and credible as death on the mean streets... The leisurely unravelling of dark secrets of people passionately commmitted to keeping up appearances produces an intelligent and convincing story. One to hide from the vicar.' Val McDermid, MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS 'Witty and worldly.' NEW YORK TIMES
About the Author
Kate Charles lives in an overly large Victorian house with her husband and their Jack Russell terrier. Her favourite hobby is visiting churches. She has been chairman of the Crime Writer's Association.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A "can't put it down" read,
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This review is from: Unruly Passions (Paperback)
Thinking this would be "cozy" type mystery, I settled down for a light evening read of "Unruly Passions". I was surprised and delighted to discover a sensitively drawn portrayal of a variety of characters, all of whom were multi-dimensional. At times, the reader can play with books as if they contain blocks instead of characters, interchanging them at will since they are lacklustre. Not so here. Ms. Charles has a village, the Vicar and his wife, the female Archdeacon and her husband and the village newcomer: wealthy potboiler writer and femme fatale. Anything anticipated as deja vu from this seemingly banal mixture will be totally different from the reader's expectation. As carefully as a microsurgeon's delvings, the writer delicately examines in surprising fashion the reverberations of passions which become unruly. There is a mystery twist, but it rides tandem with the denouement and resolution of the story. Sorry when the last page had to be turned.
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