Evans Above

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Roger Clark

Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

Evan Evans is a young police constable who has traded in the violence of city life for idyllic Llanfair, a Welsh village tucked far away from trouble. Nestled among the Snowdonia mountain range, Llanfair looks to Constable Evans like a town forgotten by time, but he quickly learns that even the bucolic countryside has its share of eccentric - and deadly - characters. Evans' new neighbors include two competitive ministers vying for the souls of their flock, one lascivious barmaid, and three other Evanses: Evan-the-Meat, Evans-the-Milk, and Evans-the-Post (whose favorite hobby is to read the mail before he delivers it).

Before Evans has time to sort through the complicated relationships and rivalries of his new home, he's called to the scene of a crime as brutal and fearsome as any he encountered in the big city. Two hikers have been murdered on the trails of the local mountain, and Evans must hunt down a vicious killer - who may or may not be linked to the mysterious destruction of Mrs. Powell-Jones' prize-winning tomatoes.

Evans Above is the first novel in Rhys Bowen's popular Constable Evans Mystery Series.

©1997 Rhys Bowen (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Interesting....

A good British cozy/village crime novel. The reader was stylistically very good but a bit plodding. Amazingly the performance improved quite noticeably by just upping the speed to 105%. I do recommend trying it at the higher speed.

39 of 39 people found this review helpful

Another great series!

Rhys Bowen's versatility is amazing and she doesn't strike a wrong note in this series set in Wales. The narrator is a bit slow but I finally just put it to 1.25 speed and it was fine. Very enjoyable.

25 of 25 people found this review helpful

Enjoyable Cozy Mystery

A great cozy mystery with a Welsh mountain village setting and cast of characters. I picked up a few clues along the way, but their relevance was less obvious than I'd thought. Narrator is wonderful.

This doesn't have the light touch of the author's Royal Spyness mysteries but it's no less enjoyable. I'm delighted to have found a new (to me) series to enjoy.

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

Has it all

A glimpse of small town Welsh life, great characters you know you'll be able to enjoy for many books in the series, a cozy mystery with a bit of excitement, and from Roger Clark, a gorgeous Welsh voice that just about sings the story. Well done! I hope the rest of the series becomes available!

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Interesting.

Having read Rhys Bowen's Spyness series I thought I would branch out and try her other work. Did not have the lightheartedness of the other series and seemed to move rather slowly.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Evans ok

Wasn't as enthralled as I hoped to be. Enjoyable but not compelling. Don't think I'll follow Constable Evans' further exploits.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Why this reader

Pronounciation of Welsh names and places cringe making to anyone familiar with Wales and the language. Welsh accent also shows unfamiliarity with North Wales.
Unfortunately these factors distracted and irritated this listener from enjoying a reasonable story.

13 of 16 people found this review helpful

performance bad.

Plot and story good. reader or person doing recording not good. I'm not sure I will use a credit to get another of these if same person is reader. disappointing.

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

Great Book!

I enjoyed this book. I will definitely be listening to more Evan Evans mysteries.
Rhys Bowen is a wonderful writer.
Roger Clark has a pleasant and easy to follow along with voice.
Highly recommend this book.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

I’ve got a crush on Evan Evans!

Good fun, likable main character and quirky supporting characters. Narrator’s deep voice was beautiful and I so enjoyed listening I didn’t want it to end.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Brilliant story set in Snowdonia

Loved reading a book set in Wales. I hope the remainder of the series is available soon.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Wonderful narration

If you could sum up Evans Above in three words, what would they be?

Warm Welsh mystery

What did you like best about this story?

This is a gentle, fairly slow-paced mystery with a lot of atmosphere and detail about life in a small north Welsh village. There is a lot of humour and some amusing characters, but it isn't too cosy and doesn't skate over the impact of crime.

Which character – as performed by Roger Clark – was your favourite?

I liked the detective, Evan Evans, the best. Roger Clark's narration really made it for me - he is the best narrator I've heard yet on an audio book. His Welsh accent really brings the book alive.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Murder in the Welsh mountains.

Any additional comments?

I got slightly irritated with all the village girls swooning over the detective - it would be nice to see him have a bit of competition instead of having 3 women as rivals for his affections! Perhaps that will happen in book 2, though.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Mr. Clark sent me to sleep!

Would you try another book written by Rhys Bowen or narrated by Roger Clark?

I would give Rhys Bowen a second chance but not Roger Clark.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I never got to the end as, for the first time ever, I nodded off so missed the end and did not feel like going back to hear the bits I had missed. I buy and listen to several audiobooks a week, as I am sight disabled, and although I have returned some books as I did not like the reader I cannot ever remember trying to persevere so hard to finish a book, so I think that the story was quite good but Mr. Clark's voice made the book so flat. It was a great relief to start the next book I had bought.

How could the performance have been better?

More spirit, a change of pace and some feeling that Roger Clark was interested in what he was reading. A strong Welsh voice would have been great.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Evans Above?

The book seemed O.K. not exactly a Muir or Ewart Hutton but it did move along quite nicely. The main problem was that as it was read in such a boring way a lot of the book got lost when I got distracted and, unlike my usual listening habit, I did not feel like going back to listen to the bits I missed as it would mean I would have to listen to more of Roger Clark!

Any additional comments?

As my sight is poor I do put more weight on a good reader than others might. I cannot go back and read the original as I know many do. It is disappointing when, who ever does such things, takes little care in matching voices to books. When it it is done well it makes such a difference. I do think that some of the best readers like Peter Forbes add a lot to the listening experience.

2 of 5 people found this review helpful