Richard Coles' debut crime series snapped up by W&N

Reverend Richard Coles has written a series of crime novels for Weidenfeld & Nicolson, launching with Murder Before Evensong, a "twisty whodunnit" about a murder in a church.

Federico Andornino, publishing director at the Orion imprint, secured world English rights for the Canon Clement mystery series in a deal struck with Tim Bates at PFD. Coles' debut novel, Murder Before Evensong, will be published as a “major title” by W&N in hardback, e-book and audio digital download editions on 9th June 2022, “supported by an unmissable, wide-ranging campaign,” the publisher said. 

The series is centred around the character of Daniel Clement, Rector of Champton and starts in 1988. The blurb reads: “Canon Daniel Clement is Rector of Champton. He has been there for eight years, living at the Rectory alongside his widowed mother – opinionated, fearless, ever-so-slightly annoying Audrey – and his two dachshunds, Cosmo and Hilda. 

“When Daniel announces a plan to install a lavatory in church, the parish is suddenly and unexpectedly divided: as lines are drawn, long-buried secrets come dangerously close to destroying the apparent calm of the village. 

“And then Anthony Bowness – cousin to Bernard de Floures, patron of Champton – is found dead at the back of the church, stabbed in the neck with a pair of secateurs. As the police move in and the bodies start piling up, Daniel is the only one who can try and keep his fractured community together - and catch a killer.” 

Coles said: “I’m very excited about the publication of Murder Before Evensong, the first Canon Clement mystery in what I intend will be a shelf’s length. It has murder, it has Evensong, it has a country parson, it has an eccentric old lady, it has one of the great families and great houses of England, and it has dachshunds.  

“It’s set in 1988, when our traditional institutions were responding to a changing world in interesting ways — and when the disruptions and damage of the Second World War were still shaping the lives of its survivors. I loved writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it. NB No parishioners were harmed in the writing of this novel.” 

Coles read theology at King's College London, and after ordination worked as a curate in Lincolnshire and subsequently at St Paul's Church in Knightsbridge, London. He is also the only vicar in Britain to have had a number one hit single and appeared on “Strictly Come Dancing”. The presenter of “Saturday Live” on BBC Radio 4, he is also the author of Lives of the Improbable Saints, two memoirs – Fathomless Riches and Bringing in the Sheaves – and The Madness of Grief, all published by Orion. 

Andornino said: “Richard Coles is many things: a legendary musician, a beloved broadcaster and a thoughtful writer of many brilliant non-fiction books, including the Sunday Times bestseller The Madness of Grief - oh and yes – he’s a vicar, too. And like a true Renaissance man, Richard has now added a new string to his bow: Murder Before Evensong marks an exciting new chapter in his career and introduces a crime writer of the highest order. The Canon Clement mysteries will thrill readers who are looking not just for a clever, twisty whodunnit, but also for characters who feel like dear friends.”