From Publishers Weekly
Cathedral Close and its diverse collection of inhabitants illuminate the third Book of Psalms mystery (after The Snares of Death) featuring artist Lucy Kingsley and solicitor David Middleton-Brown. The clerics and laity of Malbury Cathedral, all with a full measure of human frailty, have managed to coexist uneasily until the appointment of a new dean ("a real shit," according to David), who throws the little community into a turmoil that culminates in death. The benign old bishop, his earth-mother wife, a young American theological student and beloved Canon Kingsley, Lucy's father, join forces with Lucy and David to solve the mystery and save the Cathedral. Disappointingly, Charles lays her groundwork too well. Three-quarters of the way through the narrative, all is revealed to the alert reader, who must then slog through nearly 100 more pages until the heretofore sharper sleuths figure things out. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Charles offers workmanlike writing, a unique plot premise, and an intimate glimpse into the inner workings of the Anglican Church in her latest Book of Psalms mystery. The staff of Malbury Cathedral has established a tightly knit, closed community where everyone knows everyone else's business and it's difficult to keep secrets. Petty jealousies, petty politics, and petty triumphs are grist for the gossip mill within the cathedral close, so when the community learns that their own canon, Arthur Brydges-ffrench, the obvious candidate to become the new dean of the cathedral, has been passed over in favor of Stuart Latimer, an "outsider" from London, the gossips have a field day. To their horror, the cathedral staff learns that the new dean plans to oust many loyal old-timers, destroy the historic cathedral green, and turn the church grounds into a huge office complex. But when Canon Brydges-ffrench turns up dead after a meeting with Latimer, the staff begins to wonder how far the new dean will go in pursuit of his vision. A nicely written, entertaining British novel in the tradition of Charles' compatriot Barbara Pym.
Emily Melton
