Bones in the Belfry

Francis Oughterard Mystery #2

by Suzette A. Hill

Francis Oughterard was the contented vicar of Molehill when he accidentally strangled a lady parishioner. A sleazy art dealer gave him an alibi, and Maurice—his victim’s cynical cat—and Bouncer—a neighbor’s dog—rescued him from police suspicion. Now he is called upon to return the favor by storing stolen paintings in the church belfry. The intrigue mounts as hapless F.O. bumbles through confrontations. Maurice and Bouncer each contribute their version of events.

F.O. made his debut in A Load of Old Bones.

A graduate of the universities of Nottingham and Newcastle/Tyne, Suzette A. Hill taught English literature for many years at Reading College before retiring to Herefordshire.

Genres: Mystery, Humor, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, British Literature

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Suzette A. Hill was born in Eastbourne, Sussex, in 1941. She is a graduate of Nottingham and Newcastle-upon-Tyne Universities. Hill taught English literature all her professional life. At age sixty-four and retired, she tried her hand at a short story - just to see what writing fiction felt like, and to her surprise a quintet of humorous novels (Reverend Francis Oughterard series) was the result.

Reviews

[Kirstie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written with views of a vicar a dog and a cat
I enjoyed it but it wasn't anything thought provoking or riveting

[Lizzie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Bones in the Belfry’ by Suzette A Hill
Published by Constable. ISBN 978-1-84529-582-0

This is the second book set in the 1950’s in the Surrey village of Moleshill. The Reverend Francis Oughterard is still jumpy following the untimely demise of his parishioner Elizabeth Fotherington, but matters have to some extent calmed down, the police like the Arabs having folded their tents and gone away. True, he seems to have acquired a dog and a cat, but they don’t pose too much of a problem for him. But just when he thinks that he is safe and can get some peace, into his life comes one Maud Tubbly Pole and her dog Gunga Din. Maud Tubbly Pole is an author who having read about the murder in Moleshill is keen to put FO in her next book.

As if that were not enough for him to contend with, up pops Nicholas Ingaza, a character of shady disposition, who asks FO to look after some paintings which turn out to have been stolen. And so FO finds himself up to his neck in it. Every time he thinks that he has it sorted, it leaps up and bites him on the bum, the Mavis Briggs episode being a perfect example.

The story is told from the points of view of the supercilious Maurice the cat, the irrepressible dog Bouncer, and the Reverend himself. As well as some well-beloved characters, such as Horace Clinker, the bishop, introduced in this tale is FO’s sister Primrose, whose two chinchillas don’t take to Bouncer.

There was a feel of Wodehouse about this book, as matters spiral out of FO’s control and he becomes entangled in intrigue and imposters. The prose is delicious, and I enjoyed every word of it. Highly recommended.
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Lizzie Hayes

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I suppose this book would qualify as a "cozy," in that it is certainly a very genteel setting (a small British town), and the protagonist is not a professional sleuth, but rather a clergyman. He's a vicar with a secret crime in his past, and he is motivated to keep it a secret, thus he allows himeself to become embroiled in a bit of a shady art deal. I don't want to spoil it for you, so that's all I am going to say about the plot. I loved the language in this book: very post-World-War II upper crust British. There are also chapters written from the point of view of the Francis Oughterard's cat and dog. These are not too coy, and are thus enjoyable and can be downright funny. I would recommend this book and I plan to read another in the series. A great read for a cold day at home with your cat or small dog on your lap!

[Purdeyblackcat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite similar to the first book in the series, it’s an enjoyable, cosy read, not requiring too much concentration, perfect for the post Xmas slump.

Again, there’s not much in the way of plot, it’s a series of happenings concerning the Reverend Francis Oughterard and his pets. This time he gets involved in some stolen paintings and, much like the first book in the series, nothing leads anywhere as potentially interesting plot developments fizzle out without much intervention from the protagonist.

As in the first book, characterisation relies on types including the rumbustious ‘female novelist and amateur sleuth’ Maud Tubbly Pole (whose accurate assessment of Agatha Christie’s flat-as-pancakes characters is ironic to say the least). It is, perhaps, this population of stereotypes that makes this book such an easy read; no brain work is required as everyone is easily recognisable. However, some characters, such as frustrated spinster Mavis Briggs, border on the offensive. Her excitement (or should that be disappointment?) at not being raped by burglars is truly repugnant. It’s a sexist trope which does not belong in a book written in the 21st century. A bit more originality in characterisation wouldn’t go amiss.

While I don’t mind the three pronged narrative of vicar/cat/dog, it was irksome for events that had been resolved In the vicars’s account to be told again from the cat or dog’s point of view. It felt like unnecessary padding. I didn’t notice this in the first book, which is why I preferred it to this. However, it was still an enjoyable read and I’ll probably seek out the third book in the series to see what happens next.

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept of having the cat and dog adding commentary to the vicar's story is good but the actual vicar is just too wet to be believable for me.

[Carys · Rating 2 out of 5]

funny and quirky

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This seems to be the sequel to A Load of All Bones in which the prinicple character, a somewhat bumbling English vicar, murders one of his more annoying parishioners. In this book, there is no murder and really no mystery to speak of. The Vicar is harboring stolen paintings for an old school classmate who knows about the murder and is blackmailing him to help him out with the art theft by keeping the paintings. Alternate chapters are told by the Vicar's cat and dog who have typical cat and dog personalities: distrusting and disdainful versus enthusiastic and kind of dumb, respectively.
The book was slow and I don't know why I finished it other that to try to figure out when the murder part of mystery was going to happen and it never did. Or at least, not in this book.
If you like English village style murder mysteries ("cozies"), you might like this, but I think it would be better to start with the previous book in the series which apparently had an actual mystery to it.

[Plum-crazy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm... a strange little tale in deed & I'm not really sure what to make of it. It's a sort of cosy mystery-come-farce with the story told in turn by the vicar, his dog & his cat & I couldn't decide whether the format really worked or not. The animals input at times was mildly amusing in a quirky way although the characters weren't very original (a supercilious cat & a less than bright mutt) but at other times seemed a bit pointless. That said if there was solely the vicars tale then the story would have been a bit flat as there didn't really seem to be much of a story to it at all!

Maybe it would have helped to have read the first in the series. While I don't think I'd read any of the following books I would be quite interested in reading the first as I am itching to know how a vicar come to strangle one of his parishioners...never mind getting away with it! :o)

[Addison Public Library]

The second book in the series finds the Reverend Francis as an unwilling fence for stolen art paintings. Since he killed an odious parishioner in the first book (A Load of Old Bones), the Reverend always fears the knock of the police on his door. What he gets instead is Nicholas Ingaza, an old “friend” of dubious character who knows way to much about the murder and uses that leverage to force the Reverend to hide the stolen goods. It’s up to his acidic cat, Maurice, and his high-energy dog Bouncer to help the Reverend get out of this new mess.

KD

Check out this book today!

[KayDee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book in the series finds the Reverend Francis as an unwilling fence for stolen art paintings. Since he killed an odious parishioner in the first book (A Load of Old Bones), the Reverend always fears the knock of the police on his door. What he gets instead is Nicholas Ingaza, an old “friend” of dubious character who knows way to much about the murder and uses that leverage to force the Reverend to hide the stolen goods. It’s up to his acidic cat, Maurice, and his high-energy dog Bouncer to help the Reverend get out of this new mess.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I realize these books wouldn't be to everyone's taste, but I find them quite funny and charming. Yes, the chapters "written" by the cat Maurice and the dog Bouncer are ever-so-slightly twee, but the picture of life in an English village vicarage in the 50s and the vicissitudes of the hapless (and not especially saintly!) vicar Francis Oughterard make for a rollicking, quick-reading break from darker mysteries and other more serious fare.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly longer than the first one and the slapstick element is starting to jar a little. I really like the three narrative styles though that's where the comedy is for me and would like more to be written by the dog and cat. I have given only 3 stars because there were parts I felt were too long winded and repetitive.

[Mr Jaybles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny quirky book. I found it quite entertaining. Will go back and read the first in the series as well as the next one(s). Likeable characters and interesting literary device (chapters are written in one of three different first person accounts as "The Vicar's Version", "The Dog's Diary" and "The Cat's Memoirs").

The only thing I have against it was some use of swearing, but it wasn't often.

[John Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

No sorry this one wasnt for me. I was looking for a nice light crime novel but the 'different' style of this one and the repetitiveness of reading three versions of some of the story put me off. I ditched this one before I had got half way through.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very silly series about a vicar who smokes too much, drinks too much and has committed murder in the pursuit of peace - I can identify with that! Add a dog and a cat as the other main characters - a winning formula for light entertainment.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a cozy mystery with a dog and a cat, so I thought I'd give this series another chance and see if it got better. It didn't.

[Suburbangardener · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't a mystery novel or a crime novel. It is a quirky, humorous parody of English small village life. P.G. Wodehouse as black humor.

[Lili · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second of the series and it is quite charming in an old fashioned way, with lots of humour. I think they are an aquired taste.

[Chele · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm finding less and less entertainment value in non-human narrators. An irritating take on village and vicarage murder and mayhem.

[Amy Paget]

Dreadful!

[Michelle Meades · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun cozy -second in series