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.

61 people found this 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.

35 people found this 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!

16 people found this helpful

Fun easy listen

Murder light
Romantic comedy-no nudity or sex.
Location-small town in Wales.
Major plot with several smaller side plots and mysteries. Clever twists. Formulaic but fun.

No horror or terror. Not offensive.

And enjoyable easy lesson.

24 people found this 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.

7 people found this 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.

14 people found this helpful

Much preferred

I’ve listened to or read a number of other Rhys Bowen books and this , by far, the most sensible and interesting. I enjoyed the others for what they were but this one, perhaps because it is a central male character set in modern day, doesn’t seem so frivolous.

I did find the constant references to his weight and food a bit silly but I suppose it goes to his inability to make a decision about the women in his life. His fatal flaw is his white knight way of dealing with them. If he can’t rescue them, he doesn’t know what to do with them.

Anyway, I found it intriguing and entertaining.

6 people found this helpful

Good Heavens, I Like the Evans!

In a quiet little Welsh Town, where Evan Evans has retreated, in order to escape the violence of city life, Constable Evans (Evans the Law), soon discovers that Llanfair, isn't the sleepy little village that he expected . . . despite the quirky and for the most part, friendly folks (including Evans the Milk, Evans the Post and Evans the Meat), a killer is on the loose . . . and its up to Constable Evans to sniff him out . . . a great cozy mystery, rich with the details of a small town in Wales and its citizens . . . as Evans the Law dodges the advances of the local barmaid, volunteers to chaperone the teen dance and find the culprit trudging through Mrs. Powell-Jones' garden and stealing her pies, he doggedly pursues a killer on the dangerous snow topped mountain . . . the narration is great, flowing and lilting . . . and I can't wait to listen to Book Two of the series . . .

5 people found this helpful

Years since I first read this novel; still as good as the first time

Many years ago I used to belong to the Mystery Guild, an all mystery book club. It was fun and many of the series that I grew to love were first introduced to me though Mystery Guild book club editions. This is an excellent audio version of the first in the Welsh Constable Evan Evans series. My second "reading" of this charming Welsh mystery.

Some humor is included plus a decent mystery.

Recommended to readers of mysteries by Carola Dunn (Daisy Dalrymple series) and M. C. Beaton (Agatha Raisin series and Hamish MacBeth series), both series introduced to me first by the old Mystery Guild.

These are rather more cozy series than police series despite police characters.

5 people found this 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.

10 people found this 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.

5 people found this helpful

Brilliant story set in Snowdonia

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

3 people found this helpful

A good listen

Enjoyable tale with humour and characterization. Narrator has nice Welsh voice. Somewhat set in a time zone.

2 people found this helpful

Loved it!

The actors that read these books for us are just amazing. Keeping voices up and reverting correctly to the narrator's voice is really hard to do! This book has the added pleasure of Roger Clark's deep lilting Welsh voice. It's soothing and relaxing. The story is really good too. I love the characters and can listen to this over and over!

1 person found this helpful

Ridiculous

What a disappointment! I have enjoyed Rhys Bowen’s Royal Spyness books, so I was looking forward to this, however, it is awful! It reads like a book set in the early part of the 20th Century, probably somewhere between 1930 to 1960 with the dialogue, actions and attitudes of that period, until references to video, pagers and helicopters appear. Perhaps it was written to be set in that period then ‘updated’ very, very badly? Having realised by these additions that it is supposed to be set in the late 1999s when it was written, it is just a joke, with old fashioned stereotypical characters and attitudes, bizarrely old fashioned dialogue and a complete lack of modern police procedure (in fact appalling ‘procedure’). Everything about it jars the senses. The narration is ok but couldn’t rescue such a hopelessly amateur story.

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.

3 people found this helpful