Evans Above (A&B Crime)

"Listen here, Evans. You're the village policeman, not bloody Inspector Morse. If I find you poking your nose in where it's not wanted and going off on hare-brained schemes of your own again, I'll report you to your chief. Do I make myself clear?"

Evans Above is the first book in the Constable Evans series by award-winning British-born author, Rhys Bowen. Evan Evans hasn't been back in Llanfair all that long when he is alerted to a body on the mountain. His superior, DS Watkins brings another Constable to photograph the scene, and it is discovered that there are in fact two bodies, in different spots.

With his mountain-climbing skills, Evans believes the men have been murdered, but Watkins isn't convinced, and anyway, Caernarfon have their hands full with the assault and murder of an eleven-year-old girl found by the A55, which takes precedence over two likely inexperienced, unfortunate climbers. But "Evan would quietly go on with his snooping until someone told him to stop."

Turns out the bodies are those of a London policeman and a Liverpool salesman, neither of whose families knew they were in Wales. Evan's questions tease out a possible link between them, but Watkins remains sceptical. When the potential solution just about falls into his lap, he is uncomfortable with the praise heaped on 'Evans the Law' by the village and by his colleagues.

Then another body found on the mountain, this one definitely murdered, puts their earlier arrest in doubt, and Watkins begins to credit his village Constable with some intelligence: they decide to do a little investigating under the radar of the Detective Inspector who insists everything goes by the book.

Meanwhile, even though his landlady, ever intent on feeding him up, is matchmaking him with her granddaughter, and the barmaid at the Red Dragon is very interested, Evan only has eyes for teacher Bronwen Price. The rivalry between the two vicar's wives keeps him busy chasing up petty complaints, while a competitive attitude between Evans the Meat and Evans the Milk typifies the Welsh village background. Both provide a source of humour in the story, as do his avoidance antics while chaperoning the teen dance.

Setting the first of this cosy crime series in the early 1980s means that the police have access to less technology so need to rely much more on intelligent guesswork. With cultural and current affair references, Bowen easily evokes her era, and her descriptive prose really captures her setting.

She inserts a few red herrings that distract Evan, keeping the reader guessing and the pages turning. Evan's detective work is impressive for a village policeman and even the most astute reader is unlikely to guess the perpetrator or motive. This is very enjoyable cosy Welsh crime fiction and #2, Evan Help Us, is eagerly anticipated.