Murder under the Mistletoe - Richard Coles ****

In previous books by Richard Coles, such as A Death in the Parish, it has been clear that the former pop star and current Anglican priest has a far better grasp of describing period village life and the church than he has of murder mysteries. That is even more obvious here: despite the title of this novella, murder hardly features - in fact the death occurs very near the end of the book.

Once again, Coles' observations of the niceties of 1980s village and church life are delightful - with the added special dusting that Christmas brings. Perhaps his finest creation is the central character Daniel Clement's mother Audrey, who personifies the period middle class's obsession with the delicacies of status and admiration of the upper classes. One of the stars of the book is Audrey's bread sauce, a turkey accompaniment that dates back to when English cooking embraced plainness, to the extent that the recipe is published at the back of the book.

Coles handles nicely the relationship of the vicar with his congregations, expanded significantly over Christmas time by the once-a-year brigade, something that happened even more in the 80s than is the case today. Somewhat bravely, he even includes a short but complete sermon. Admittedly, there were a couple of details that raised an eyebrow. Clement's churchwardens, sidespeople and other churchy supporting cast deserted him to clear up after the Midnight Mass alone (despite a 200-ish congregation - Coles it seems isn't a fan of accurate headcounts). And Clement and his friend were struggling to get fairy lights not to go through various flashing cycles - this feels unlikely in the 80s when white lights weren't LED and rarely flashed.

These books are pure atmosphere with a smidgen of plot attached - something that works particularly well in a Christmas title. Though not as good a mystery as A Death in the Parish, I very much enjoyed this one as a light seasonal snack.

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Review by Brian Clegg - See all Brian's online articles or subscribe to a weekly email free here

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