I read this one as the group read this month for the English Kindle Mystery Club on Goodreads.  I have previously read two other books from this author, Death of a Lit Chick and Death of a Cozy Writer.  The two books appeared to be a parody of cozy mysteries, perhaps some kind of satire, but they didn’t really work for me in that form.

This book started out with very much the same tone as the previous books, but then seemed to change  somewhat at around page 100, as though the book couldn’t decide whether it was a cozy or a parody. That was about when we got heavily introduced to the sleuth Max, ex MI5 agent turned village Vicar.  Max as a character just didn’t seem very real.  The whole dramatic event turning him from MI5 agent to a man of the cloth, who just doesn’t seem very religious or all that interested in the village didn’t really work as a character.    He only really sparks to life during the investigation of the murder.

Overall, I was disappointed with this.  Many characters seem cartoonish, not well drawn.  I assume it was intentional, perhaps meant to be a parody, however not funny enough for me for a parody.  The pacing was slow.  I usually finish cozy mysteries in one sitting.  This one I kept finding excuses to put it down and get up and do something else.  There were some point of view issues and other little style points I wasn’t crazy about.

While I will probably not read another in this series, I do know many people really enjoy G.M. Malliet’s writing and she has  won an Agatha for a previous book and that Wicked Autumn has been nominated for an Agatha, so perhaps it is just me.