Reviews

Evan Help Us by Rhys Bowen

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slferg's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

kathydavie's review against another edition

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3.0

The second in the Constable Evans Welsh mystery series, Evan Help Us has a 1950-ish feel to it with a whole crew of fun characters whom you can't help but enjoy including the Detective Inspector who is more concerned with his fishing than the truth (he does remind me of Racer from the Inspector Jury series by Martha Grimes).

Constable Evan Evans has transferred to Llanfair to get away from the intensity of crime in the big city only to fall into it in this tiny, picturesque Welsh village. Two murders in about as many days...not what Annie Pigeon was expecting either!

One of the murdered men is a well-loved, long-time visitor about to put Llanfair on the tourist map while the other is an unloved, unwanted local who has returned after 20 years with his ideas for pulling tourists to Llanfair.

It's an easy, fun read that pokes you into wondering how last names evolved with a lively insight into the daily life of a Welsh village.

book_concierge's review

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3.0

Book two in the Constable Evans series has Evan looking into two seemingly unrelated deaths. Colonel Arbuthnot has wandered the area around the village for some time and, an amateur archeologist, he’s come across what he believes to be a credible ruin that could bring great attention to the village. After boasting to one and all at the pub one night, he leaves to go to his lodging house, but he never makes it home. He’s found the next day in the river; apparently having slipped off the footbridge while inebriated and drowned. A few nights later prodigal son Ted Morgan, who’s returned to the village from a successful career as a real estate developer in London, is found dead in his study, an apparent suicide. But both deaths are eventually deemed to be murder. There is no obvious connection between the two of them, so does this mean there are two murderous persons about in the small Welsh village?

I like Constable Evans, but this one dragged a little. Still, I enjoy spending time with the colorful residents of Llanfair. CP Evans’ slow-burn relationship with

Spoiler

Bronwen

is ever-so-slowly inching along. But

Spoiler

Betsy the bar maid

isn’t about to give up hope for a romance with him either.

alidottie's review against another edition

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3.0

3 & 1/2 stars
I still love Inspector Evan Evans. This book was just not as endearing. Very quick, not as personal.

tobyyy's review against another edition

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4.0

A decently written mystery that takes place in rural Wales.

This is only Bowen’s second book and you can tell that she’s still working on her style and figuring out how to create believable plots and characters. This was the first of the Evan series that I’ve read, and it was a pleasant story reminiscent of a mixture between Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and M. C. Beaton’s Hamish McBeth series.

Will definitely be reading more in this series. Very relaxing and enjoyable to read — definitely not the series to choose if you are looking for fast-paced and action-packed stories, though.