Customer Reviews

Wicked Autumn: A Max Tudor Novel

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read all of G M Malliet's books and was thrilled to find this book available through Vine. I wasn't sure that the book would or could live up to all the great blurbs, but I am happy to say that this book far exceeded my expectations. I really hated to have it end.

Wicked Autumn takes place in the village Nether Monkslip where Max Tudor, a former MI5 agent, is now the vicar. The book is full of wonderful descriptions of the village and people in it. The characters are superbly rendered and just eccentric enough to be fun, without going over the top. The murder victim Wanda Batton-Smyth is just horrible enough that it becomes a matter of who didn't want to kill her rather who might want to get her permanently out of the village. Finding out just who did, though, is great fun to read.

This book is extremely well written and flows very nicely. The mystery was well-plotted and proceeds at a nice pace, and the humor felt very natural, not forced. There's enough detail about the village and the characters so that they are fully developed, but aren't so heavy-handed that they get in the way of the flow of the story.

I simply loved everything about this British cozy mystery and feel it more than lives up to the blurbs written about it. I believe that readers who enjoy traditional English cozy mysteries will absolutely love this book. Christie fans may even do a happy dance or two.

Overall, fabulous first book in what I hope will be a long, long cozy mystery series. Perfect book for days that are turning a bit cooler and getting a little longer. Already looking forward to the next Max Tudor book!

As the first in an intended series, quite a bit of this book was devoted to a leisurely set-up so thorough that a careful reader could find his way if dropped suddenly into the center of the village, and could probably recognize many of the characters on the street. No map is necessary (although one would have been delightful.) The cast of characters is listed, so we can probably expect to meet most of them in subsequent books - unless they're killed off first.

Although the lanes are still narrow and some of the buildings may lean a little, Nether Monkslip has had a bit of an update since the days of the traditional cozy. Most of the businesses in town do a brisk internet business in items from antiques to hand-knitted designer sweaters to marzipan candies. Father Max, the new Vicar, formerly of MI5, thought he had found an idyllic place to scrub away the memories that still haunted him.

Of course every pudding has its lumps, and Nether Monkslip's is wealthy Wanda Batton-Smythe, formidable self-appointed Leader of the Community and head of the Womens' Institute. As the book opens, she is busily planning the Harvest Fayre; perfectly sure of how it should be run, running roughshod over any and all other opinions. Are we unbearably surprised when she shows up dead in the midst of the Fayre?

This is an enjoyable fair-play spoof on the mysteries of the Golden Age, with occasional flashes of well placed laugh-out-loud humor. I was a little concerned at how much of Max's past the author revealed in this first book; will he continue to be as intriguing with his angst out of the bag (at least to the reader), so to speak?

I will certainly read the next book to find out.

Updated 11/13/11 to add:

The author has published a charming interactive online map of Nether Monkslip here:[...]

Well worth a look!

Outwardly, this book seems to have many of the elements I look for in a traditional cozy, and while the mystery was one you could sink your teeth into at times, I was never really able to get worked up enough about the story to empathize with the characters or care if I picked it up again after setting it down for the night. While this wasn't poorly done by any stretch, the writing was... pedestrian is the only word that comes to mind. The characters were bland and could have been pulled from any book, re-named and inserted here, and the overuse of dialogue tags and needless descriptions did start to get on my nerves after a while.

That being said, when I did manage to get into this, I found it to be worthwhile for the plot alone, and finished because of a genuine interest to find out how it all concluded. So that does count for something, and if you're an enthusiast of cozies (as I am!), this is probably one you'll enjoy settling down with.

Who knew that you could have an old-fashioned English village mystery that includes the F-bomb? Don't worry; I'm not saying that curses fly around in this book. There's just the one incident, but it's near the beginning of the book and is a sign to the reader that the village cozy has been updated.

Max Tudor has taken early retirement from Britain's MI5 intelligence service after a horrific incident made him find, rather than lose, his faith. Max is now the vicar for a Church of England parish in Nether Monkslip, a classically idyllic village, complete with unique shops, quaint cottages, spinsters, a bachelor antique shop owner, a retired military man and a mother earth type.

The village also comes with a natural murder victim: Wanda Batton-Smyth, head of the Women's Institute. Wanda is a non-benevolent despot, haranguing the members of the WI and villagers alike in the last days before the annual Harvest Fayre. Wanda is so deeply despised in the village that it's almost impossible to exclude anybody from the suspect list when she's found dead during the Fayre. Max's intelligence service background and easy entrée into every home in Nether Monkslip quickly make him an obvious choice to help Detective Chief Inspector Cotton track down Wanda's murderer.

G. M. Malliet is the author of a previous series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Arthur St. Just. That series has been a little too cute for me. This new series is a straightforward traditional, with some modern sensibility, and should appeal to readers who enjoy village mysteries. There is even a character list in the front of the book. If it also had a map, it would tick all the boxes.

I know a "cozy" is supposed to be relaxing, but I don't think it's supposed to actually put the reader to sleep. The book has so much promise--a potentially interesting hero, former MI5 operative turned Episcopal priest, and a remote, idyllic village, a la Louise Penney's Three Pines. Unfortunately, none of this promise is realized. The characters are not developed at all, more carboard than flesh and blood. The descriptions of the village and surrounding areas are flat and fail to deliver on the atmospheric effect that the author seems to attempt. Worst of all, the book is simply devoid of any tension which would create some drama to hold the reader's interest. Unfortunately, the best word I could use to describe this book is dull.

Encore, Ms. Malliet! Having read all three of your St. Just Mysteries, I have been eager to read more of his adventures. And now what a pleasing surprise! We your audience have a new protagonist with the moniker Max Tudor. What a splendid caricature of a name for your latest hero! I can easily picture this guy.... Max Tudor?( I leave the traits this name may inspire up to the individual reader, but I had fun with it).

And Wicked Autumn is even more fun to read than the first three novels if that's possible. The satire embedded into the names of the characters has reached upward to another level. And I must mention the map illustration in the front of the book. Malliet uses this tool to immerse the reader into the ideal English village. And the name of the village - I mean really.......Nether Monkslip? Brilliant! The name and map illustration launched me into a powerful visual in my mind's eye ( I want to live there.... ) and really enhanced the flavor and enjoyment of the story line.

Not to mention Malliet's skill in keeping the reader anxious to finish one chapter and turn to the next........a wonderful new cozy. Thank you, Ms. Malliet. A very enjoyable read.

Encore!

So what are the chances you can have an ex-MI5 agent change careers, become an Anglican priest and be right on the scene to solve the murder of the one person in a tiny English village who is universally disliked by everyone except her husband? This MI5/priest device never felt as if it meshed together naturally to me. Revealing who the victim is in this novel is not a spoiler, that is mentioned in any synopsis you find. After reading the first chapter of the book her doom is positively sealed with the only questions remaining of whether there will be other deaths and who is responsible. She is such a thoroughly unlikeable person that I couldn't help but wonder why anybody put up with her domineering, mean personality in the first place.

I eagerly began reading this novel because I have enjoyed other mysteries written by G. M. Malliet. They were obviously written to poke fun at the cozy style of novel and I liked the way they did that. This book is meant to take a different direction, to go along the route of the traditional cozy British village mystery while being set in modern times. The first book in a new series has a lot of background to set up for the lead character and this one does just that, but the author takes the entire book to tell the reader the full circumstances of why Maxen "Max" Tudor made the abrupt and unconventional career change we now see him in. Malliet was never able to convince me that Max was actually much of a priest and after being in Nether Monkslip for five years still seemed to know very little about the people of the village. When the crime occurred the policeman in charge immediately called on him to help solve the case and Max had a very heavy handed way of questioning villagers that not one person ever objected to. And the clues about the guilty party are rather easy to spot so there wasn't much solving ability required on my part.

I would say this is just an average mystery novel. Maybe they will get better as the series goes along. I have no idea, but this one just didn't work for me at all. I had absolutely no problem leaving the book lying on a table for long stretches of time and never even thinking about it. For me to take well over a week to read a book that I would normally read in a day and a half was one sure sign of me not being engaged in the story and not feeling empathy with the characters. This novel featured that revered organization of the English village, the Women's Institute. I just wish the author could have resisted the temptation of having the women decide to do a nude calendar. That simply played into my unsettled feeling of not ever being completely sure if this novel was to be taken seriously. For those who like all the trappings of a cozy there is a list of characters and a really quite nice map of Nether Monkslip on the inside front and back covers of my hardcover book.

In an English hamlet beguilingly named Nether Monkslip, a mystery reader might expect a quirky brew of eccentric characters, tangled relationships and piquant charm. The reader won't be disappointed in this debut novel of a new and rather sophisticated cozy mystery series that is reminiscent of the Golden Age mysteries. It even gives a tip of the hat to Dame Agatha Christie.

WICKED AUTUMN is peopled with colorful characters you would expect to find in a modern version of a quintessential English village: a former MI5 agent turned Vicar, a New Age shop owner and earth goddess, a blonde femme fatale bombshell who intoxicates the village women at a "how-to-mix-cocktails" charity fundraiser, a boorish retired Major and his battle-axe wife, a couple of bad writers, a sexy bad-boy chef, a village baker--everyone but a candlestick maker. One of these villagers is murdered at the annual Autumn Fayre and the Vicar's MI5 training is gratefully pressed into service by the local investigator.

The virtuous Vicar discovers his hamlet isn't quite the twinkling Thomas Kinkade scene that it appears to be on the surface. A simmering cauldron of passion and wickedness boils just below. Female readers' hearts may flutter as the masculine and sensitive bachelor Vicar makes his village rounds talking to potential witnesses. Some male readers may enjoy considering the femme fatale's serious curves. Anglophiles will relish the bucolic English village setting as described by the author whose storytelling is liberally laced with humor. The author, an Oxford and Cambridge educated writer, has received several writing awards. Her intelligence seeps through the prose.

If you're a fan of Louise Penny's Canadian Inspector Gamache series, or Martin Walker's French Bruno the Detective series, you'll find a similar winsomeness and wit invigorating this first novel of this English Vicar Max Tudor series. I can't wait to see which villager gets knocked off next in the sequel to this delectable debut. I loved this mystery and am going to explore the author's previous books.

Max Tudor, traumatized by the death of his partner and his own injuries, both spiritual and physical, realized almost too late the importance of the human spirit and the ties that bind us all together under God. When he did, however, he left his harrowing life as an MI-5 agent to become the vicar in the small village of Nether Monkslip, where he has lived for the past two years, reveling in the peace and tranquility he has found there. Despite the little foibles of village life, including nosy neighbors, petty bickering and incurable matchmakers, Max has enjoyed his time as vicar, believing he has left behind the evil world of murder and mayhem so predominant in his former life. He soon finds that he is wrong when a much disliked villager is found dead, the victim of a deadly allergy that someone has put to good use. Max's former training kicks in, bringing with it unsettling memories of the past, as he aids the village police in searching for the cold blooded killer who lives among the villagers. Everyone in the village has a motive for murder, for the dead woman had a remarkable skill at making people hate her, but who was evil enough to carry out the deed? Max is anxious to discover the answer and restore the harmony of life he has come to cherish so much. Will he succeed or will the evil-doer strike again, this time at a more innocent victim?

The plot of this book is a good one but, unfortunately, it falls a bit flat. The cast of characters is large and, though they're each described in detail, they never truly come alive off the page. It's hard to feel sympathy or kinship with any of them, including Max. Though this may be due to the fact that this is the first book in the series and the author is working to introduce us to the village and its inhabitants, it's hard to really feel any desire to look for a sequel. I can't criticize the author's writing, for it is good, but it just doesn't elicit that feel of connection that I need to describe a book as truly good. I did like the description of Max's conversion and his realization of the intrinsic value of each person's spirit and soul, but the further descriptions of his own religious beliefs and the discussions about faith and morality that came toward the end of the book seemed forced and unnecessary. In summary, though the mystery is still interesting enough to keep one reading to the end, I would say that this is a book I could have left on the shelf without any regrets.

I love English cozies, but some are just too silly, like any in the Agatha Raisin series. I have been looking for a good book because I still miss P.D James (hardly a cozy). I couldn't get into this. I was drawn in by the beautiful artwork on the cover, but was repelled by every attempt to read it. The long cast of characters at the beginning did not help me much and was very off putting. It was dull and I just kept putting it down. I may never know what I think of this book. Life is to short to read books that are not thoroughly enjoyable unless you are taking a class, right? I am obligated to Vine to write a review and I have waited hoping to read and give a critique. I realize that this is it: I can't take it and this book goes to the bottom of the stack. If I get snowed in for months with only this book in the house and no charge for my Kindle, I will update my review. True that you can't judge a book by it's cover. This book didn't grab me like the cover.