The Chorister at the Abbey

A Norbridge Chronicles Murder Mystery

By: Lis Howell

Narrated by: Liz Holliss

Christmas is coming to Norbridge, but so is The Chorister, a killer with a liking for brutal quotes from the Psalms of David.

When a body is discovered with smashed teeth, the harmony of the ancient Cumbrian market town is threatened and members of the Abbey Chorus start to panic. Suzy Spencer, single mum and media producer, and Robert Clark, teacher and traditionalist, find themselves drawn in to help their friends.

But they already have enough troubles of their own, coping with teenagers and the trails of sharing a home-all made worse by the musical menace of the Chorister at the Abbey.

©2009 Lis Howell (P)2009 Oakhill Publishing Ltd

Critic reviews

"All in all a throughly enjoyable read and perfect for taking on holiday." (The Bookbag)

contemporary Brit mystery-cozy that's not cute-sy

Good and fairly original mystery plot, interesting characters, over and above the narrative - not professional detectives nor amaetur sleuths, just intelligent people getting caught up in a murder mystery while going about their complex lives. Good setting details with snippets of church life (not unlike the American Julia Spencer Flemming in that regard). Not a church-y book, though -- the church goers (and abstainers) are just trying to fit that cultural piece in their identity puzzle as the story unfolds around them.

Though it's not a Christmas book there's a bit of a Christmas setting, so this would be perfect light reading during that holiday. No grisly violence, no graphic sex, no superhero action figures, but realistic characters and relationships against the crime backdrop in a well described contemporary British community.

This is one in a series, but the stories are stand alone. I hope Audible gets more by this versatile author. Well-narrated, too.