Evan Blessed

May 30, 2005
In Edgar-finalist Bowen's smooth, fast-paced ninth Constable Evans mystery (after 2004's Evan's Gate
), the case of a girl who's disappeared while hiking on Mt. Snowdon interrupts Evan Evans and Bronwen Price's wedding preparations. A search fails to turn up the girl, but the police do find a bunker dug into the mountain, complete with survival supplies and chains and handcuffs. As the investigation continues, Evan receives an odd note, a threat in the form of music. Convinced he's dealing with a clever, twisted mind after other missives follow, Evan never suspects that Bronwen could be a target. When his fiancée goes missing, Evan is even more desperate to solve the riddle of the musical threats. Bowen keeps the suspense slowly building to a satisfying and tidy conclusion. Agent, Meg Ruley.

July 1, 2005
One bothersome aspect about this series is that the books aren't as funny as their punning titles indicate: " Evan's Gate, Evans to Betsy, Evan and Elle" . While not knee-slappers in the vein of Joan Hess' Maggody series, though, they do offer a quieter sort of wit, fully in keeping with the cozy tradition. This time Constable Evan Evans, the hardworking, good-hearted copper who maintains order in a small Welsh village, searches for a missing woman. The matters get complicated when a second woman, Evans' own fiancee, also vanishes. Is Evans the villain's target, or is this latest development merely a coincidence? The Evans series has settled nicely into the classic pattern of the British village cozy, and fans of the series will be completely satisfied with this offering. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)