Rating: 
Summary: Sometimes the bad guy wins!!
Review: Otis Joy is the popular and handsome young rector of St. Bartholomew's Church in Foxford, Wiltshire, England. His bishop has just accused him of embezzling church funds and ordered him to resign. The rector has no other choice other than the murder of the bishop and the cleverly designed disposal of the body to render a suicide verdict when it is discovered. If his parishioners would only keep to his plans, Joy would not have to resort to murder again. Unfortunately, they don't and he does. With a devilish plot, Lovesey encourages the reader to sympathize with the Rector Joy who only seeks an ordered life. Hilarious, wicked, and twisted, The Reaper is not to be missed! Peter Lovesey is the author of twenty-one celebrated mystery novels and the recipient of the 2000 CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger in recognition of lifetime achievement.
Rating: 
Summary: Great fun
Review: The Reaper is a humourous, but elegantly written story of a homicidal rector who somehow secures the reader's approval while radically culling his flock in a Wiltshire village. His first (?) victim, Bishop Glastonbury, is found in a deserted quarry with a naughty girlie magazine close at hand. The Bishop's last telephone call was to a 'Miss Whiplash' hotline. Meanwhile, Otis Joy, the guilty rector, is disturbed by Rachel Jansen, a parishoner, as he parades around his home dressed only in an apron! Getting the picture?This book is a great fun read as the bodies begin to pile up and the reader is the only one who knows who's doing it. There's no mystery involved - Otis Joy is guilty of more deaths than the bubonic plague. We even learn Reverend Joy's motives. What holds the reader's attention is the lasting question, will he be caught? People are getting suspicious, and tongues begin to wag. And, of course, there's Joy's possible relationship with Rachel Jansen after her husband suddenly 'dies'... Will it happen? Can it succeed? My only reason for not giving 'The Reaper' a five star rating, is because I felt we weren't given quite enough characterization of the main roles. If there'd been a four-and-a-half button, I would have pressed it. Nevertheless, 'The Reaper' earned Peter Lovesey the Cartier Diamond Dagger award and should not be missed. His other books (over twenty of them) include 'Rough Cider' and 'The Vault' - also well worth space on your bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: Top Notch!
Review: THE REAPER is one of the funniest novels I have read in a long time. Although it scarcely qualifies as a mystery (the only mystery is, "Will he get away with it?") the book certainly meets the highest standards for light well-crafted fiction with a lovely nasty streak. Be warned, however: it is impossible to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Top Notch!
Review: THE REAPER is one of the funniest novels I have read in a long time. Although it scarcely qualifies as a mystery (the only mystery is, "Will he get away with it?") the book certainly meets the highest standards for light well-crafted fiction with a lovely nasty streak. Be warned, however: it is impossible to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Heaven sent
Review: This was an astounding read. Lovesey constantly had the reader sympathizing with the wrong person, and disliking the conventional "good guys". At first I thought it would be another "Columbo" type plot, but I couldn't be more wrong. The many plot twists, especially the one at the end are well planned and executed (oops, wrong word). If Hitchcock were alive today, I believe he would have expressed serious interest in making this masterpiece into one of his famous movies.
Rating:
Summary: This would be a Hitchcock movie...
Review: This was an astounding read. Lovesey constantly had the reader sympathizing with the wrong person, and disliking the conventional "good guys". At first I thought it would be another "Columbo" type plot, but I couldn't be more wrong. The many plot twists, especially the one at the end are well planned and executed (oops, wrong word). If Hitchcock were alive today, I believe he would have expressed serious interest in making this masterpiece into one of his famous movies.
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