Evan Only Knows

Rating:
Summary: Mild Well-Told Mystery
Review: An entertaining mystery set in Wales, as gently witty as its title. Constable Evan Evans returns to Swansea on holiday in order to introduce his finacee, Bronwen, to his widowed mother. He finds that the ex-con who murdered his policeman father five years earlier has been arrested for the rape-murder of the daughter of a prominent local factory owner. Evans arranges to interview the accused, Tony Mancini, in jail and becomes convinced that he is innocent of the girl's death. Evan feels (unlikely as that may seem)duty-bound to pursue the real killer and exonerate Mancini.

The average reader may have identified the murderer and motive long before Constable Evans does, but Rhy Bowne keeps us entertained by humorous subplots: his mother's prickly personality, Bronwen's snobbish parents, an ex-girlfriend, and a refugee lamb. There is little violence, but enough suspense to keep the pages turning.

Rating:
Summary: Mild Well-Told Mystery
Review: An entertaining mystery set in Wales, as gently witty as its title. Constable Evan Evans returns to Swansea on holiday in order to introduce his finacee, Bronwen, to his widowed mother. He finds that the ex-con who murdered his policeman father five years earlier has been arrested for the rape-murder of the daughter of a prominent local factory owner. Evans arranges to interview the accused, Tony Mancini, in jail and becomes convinced that he is innocent of the girl's death. Evan feels (unlikely as that may seem)duty-bound to pursue the real killer and exonerate Mancini.

The average reader may have identified the murderer and motive long before Constable Evans does, but Rhy Bowne keeps us entertained by humorous subplots: his mother's prickly personality, Bronwen's snobbish parents, an ex-girlfriend, and a refugee lamb. There is little violence, but enough suspense to keep the pages turning.

Rating:
Summary: strong cerebral who-done-it
Review: Evan Evans grew up in South Wales, but fits in fine in the North Wales town of Llanfair as the townsfolk look upon him as one of their own. That situation changes dramatically when he's ordered to assist the Ministry of Agriculture workers about to destroy the farmers' sheep in an effort to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. The villagers feel that Evan should push the government to test for the disease before any animal is destroyed.

The constable decides to escape the mess by traveling with his fiancée Bronwen to meet her parents and his mom. When they reach Swansea they learn that Tony Mancino is believed to have raped and killed the daughter of a powerful big shot in the community. If he is convicted he will get life. Tony killed Evan's father. Evan talks with Tony in an effort to find closure about his father's death but he comes away from the encounter convinced the thug is innocent of this crime. After wrestling with his conscience, he decides to search for the real killer, knowing that he will incur the wrath of his mother, the police and the townsfolk, all of who want to see Tony locked away for life.

Readers who like a bloodless cerebral who-done-it that captures the essence of Wales will want to read Evan Only Knows. The protagonist believes in immediate cause and effect justice even if it means helping his father's killer gain his freedom. Rhys Bowen is a master at characterizations, so much so that readers will feel as if they really know the people of Swansea. British police procedurals don't get better than this.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: strong cerebral who-done-it
Review: Evan Evans grew up in South Wales, but fits in fine in the North Wales town of Llanfair as the townsfolk look upon him as one of their own. That situation changes dramatically when he's ordered to assist the Ministry of Agriculture workers about to destroy the farmers' sheep in an effort to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. The villagers feel that Evan should push the government to test for the disease before any animal is destroyed.

The constable decides to escape the mess by traveling with his fiancée Bronwen to meet her parents and his mom. When they reach Swansea they learn that Tony Mancino is believed to have raped and killed the daughter of a powerful big shot in the community. If he is convicted he will get life. Tony killed Evan's father. Evan talks with Tony in an effort to find closure about his father's death but he comes away from the encounter convinced the thug is innocent of this crime. After wrestling with his conscience, he decides to search for the real killer, knowing that he will incur the wrath of his mother, the police and the townsfolk, all of who want to see Tony locked away for life.

Readers who like a bloodless cerebral who-done-it that captures the essence of Wales will want to read Evan Only Knows. The protagonist believes in immediate cause and effect justice even if it means helping his father's killer gain his freedom. Rhys Bowen is a master at characterizations, so much so that readers will feel as if they really know the people of Swansea. British police procedurals don't get better than this.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Balance Needed Here
Review: I've enjoyed all of Rhys Bowen's books, including this one.

Evan does not want to be around to enforce the Ministry's rules for handling livestock in the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic. WIth a bit of help from a superior officer, he's off the duty roster and heading for Swansea with his fiance, Bronwen. The couple visits both sets of parents, starting wtih Evan's mother, an overly concerned soul who sends her love through her cooking.

Coincidentally, Tony Mancini is arrested for the murder of a young lady from Swansea. Tony already served time for shooting Evan's father, which he claimed was accidental. Evan begins to wonder if Tony really did murder Allison and, going out on a limb, begins to investigate.

Evan's investigation keeps the pages turning. Bronwen gets involved because she looks young and young people will talk to her like an equal. The ending is a little disappointing, as the motive seems to echo other novels of recent years.
And it's not too hard to guess the ending.

As usual, Bowen serves up vivid descriptions of Wales and sets a lively pace. However, by moving the action south, we lose some local village charm. And the horror of complying with requirements to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease casts a disturbing shadow on an otherwise light-hearted novel. Then again, in real life, this disease cast a shadow on this otherwise delightful world.

Rating:
Summary: Evan goes south
Review: I've enjoyed all of Rhys Bowen's books, including this one.

Evan does not want to be around to enforce the Ministry's rules for handling livestock in the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic. WIth a bit of help from a superior officer, he's off the duty roster and heading for Swansea with his fiance, Bronwen. The couple visits both sets of parents, starting wtih Evan's mother, an overly concerned soul who sends her love through her cooking.

Coincidentally, Tony Mancini is arrested for the murder of a young lady from Swansea. Tony already served time for shooting Evan's father, which he claimed was accidental. Evan begins to wonder if Tony really did murder Allison and, going out on a limb, begins to investigate.

Evan's investigation keeps the pages turning. Bronwen gets involved because she looks young and young people will talk to her like an equal. The ending is a little disappointing, as the motive seems to echo other novels of recent years.
And it's not too hard to guess the ending.

As usual, Bowen serves up vivid descriptions of Wales and sets a lively pace. However, by moving the action south, we lose some local village charm. And the horror of complying with requirements to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease casts a disturbing shadow on an otherwise light-hearted novel. Then again, in real life, this disease cast a shadow on this otherwise delightful world.

Rating:
Summary: Balance Needed Here
Review: This series has swung from Disney to Grimm Brothers. The early fuzzy-bunny books were "charming" to the point of cloying, but if I have to choose one style or the other, I'll take the Disney style over the grimness of this book. I could not bear to read of the herds and flocks being destroyed. Bad enough it was all over the news; do I have to find it in my escape reading also? I'm going to be very careful about any Rhys Bowen purchases in the future, instead of treating her works as virtually auto-buys.

Rating:
Summary: Balance Needed Here
Review: This series has swung from Disney to Grimm Brothers. The early fuzzy-bunny books were "charming" to the point of cloying, but if I have to choose one style or the other, I'll take the Disney style over the grimness of this book. I could not bear to read of the herds and flocks being destroyed. Bad enough it was all over the news; do I have to find it in my escape reading also? I'm going to be very careful about any Rhys Bowen purchases in the future, instead of treating her works as virtually auto-buys.

Rating:
Summary: A Weak Entry in a Great Series
Review: When foot and mouth disease makes its way to Wales, Constable Evan Evans finds himself caught between his job and his friends in the village. When his boss offers him time off, he and his fiancee Bronwen decide to go visit each other's family.

They've hardly arrived at Mrs. Evans in Swansea before they get the news. The young man who killed Evan's father years ago has just been arrested for another murder. Called into the hearing to keep him in jail without bail, Evan makes a startling discovery - he thinks the kid is innocent this time. Now he must sneak around behind the backs of the police and his mother to find the real killer. But will he alienate all those he loves as a result?

Normally, I love this series. It's a light, fun excursion to a part of the world I would love to visit. This book was a disappointment, however. The tone of the book is significantly darker then the others in the series, not providing the escape I was looking for. The biggest problem is the plot. It starts rather slowly and doesn't really get rolling until about a third of the way into the book. Then, I had everything but the motive figured out about 80 pages before the end. On the bright side, we get to see significantly more of Bronwen then normal, and her interaction with Evan is some of the best in the series. She definitely needs more page time in future books.

This book has some great moments and fans of the series will certainly enjoy it. But if you're new to this great series, don't start here and don't judge the entire series by this book.