Evanly Bodies

Constable Evans #10

by Rhys Bowen

Detective Constable Evan Evans and his new bride, Bronwen, are settling into married life in their little cottage above the village of Llanfair when they meet the daughter of one of the village’s newest families, a sixteen-year-old Pakistani girl named Jamila.

Bronwen and Jamila are becoming good friends when Jamila finds out from her parents that they have arranged a marriage for her back in Pakistan. Evans tries to convince her family not to enforce the custom, arguing that Jamila is a normal Welsh teenager, but just as the tensions increase, the girl suddenly vanishes. Bronwen is distraught, but there’s no trace of her.

At work, Evans is investigating the murder of a man shot to death through the open window of his home while eating breakfast. After the man’s wife is jailed as a suspect, a second man is killed---and then a third---and Evans and his team are on the hunt for a serial killer. But they can’t seem to find any connections between the three men…
 
In the surprising climax of Edgar Award finalist Rhys Bowen’s tenth Constable Evans mystery, Evans risks everything to solve the murders and discover what happened to Jamila. All in all, the novel is a triumph for fans of Bowen’s acclaimed Evans series, and a wonderful discovery for new readers.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Crime, Cozy, Ebooks, Audiobook

210 pages, Hardcover

First published August 8, 2006

About the author

I'm a New York Times bestselling mystery author, winner of both Agatha and Anthony awards for my Molly Murphy mysteries, set in 1902 New York City.

I have recently published four internationally bestselling WWII novels, one of them a #1 Kindle bestseller, and the Tuscan Child selling almost a million copies to date. In Farleigh Field won three major awards and was nominated for an Edgar. My other stand-alone novels are The Victory Garden, about land girls in WWI and Above the Bay of Angels, featuring a young woman who becomes chef for Queen Victoria.
April 2021 will mark the publication of THE VENICE SKETCHBOOK--another sweeping historical novel of love, loss and intrigue.

My books are currently translated into 29 languages and I have fans worldwide.

I also write the Agatha-winning Royal Spyness series, about the British royal family in the 1930s. It's lighter, sexier, funnier, wicked satire. It was voted by readers as best mystery series one year.
I am also known for my Constable Evans books, set in North Wales, and for my award-winning short stories.

I was born and raised in England but currently divide my time between California and Arizona where I go to escape from the harsh California winters
When I am not writing I love to travel, sing, hike, play my Celtic harp.
Series:
* Constable Evan Mystery
* Molly Murphy Mysteries
* Her Royal Spyness Mysteries

Awards:
Agatha Award
◊ Best Novel (2001): Murphy's Law
Reviewer's Choice Award
◊ Historical Mystery (2001): Murphy's Law

Reviews

[Phrynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tenth and last book in the series which is a great shame. I have enjoyed this little saga about a country policeman in a small village in Wales.

Evan Evans (he jokes that his parents did not have much imagination) has a talent for police work which probably would have served him well in a big town. In one village at least he has served people very well for ten books. I wish there had been more.

[~☆~Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evan did the wrong thing in this book so I do not like him any longer. I found it hard to believe what he did after being in a secret women's shelter proving once again you cannot trust the police! They are prone to behave like idiots. It is too sad. He promised not to reveal anything and then broke his word.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Constable Evan Evans! Llanfair’s finest has been transferred to a major-crimes unit headed by a graceless blockhead. This new team begins investigating the murder of a curmudgeonly university professor, which is the first of several. Evan is so busy with work that his new wife, schoolteacher Bronwyn, doesn’t know what to do with herself.

Meanwhile, closer to home, a student at Bronwyn’s new school, Jamila Khan, has modern ideas although her brother Rashid tends toward Muslim fundamentalism. Rashid convinces their father to send her to Pakistan to marry an older man she’s never met. What can Evan and Bronwyn do to save her?

This final book in the Evan Evans series isn’t the best of the bunch, but I did like it. Sadly, Rhys Bowen seems to have dedicated herself to her two other series and hasn’t published an Evan Evans book since 2006. So I guess we have to say goodbye to Llanfair.

[Wayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Constable Evans books started out as mysteries from a small village in Wales with the main character, Evan Evans. The stories showed what village life in Wales was like. The stories were interesting and charming. A great deal of the charm was that the stories were so insulated from the outside world.

I saw an interview with the author and she said one of the reasons she ended the series was she had written herself into a corner. As a writer, she felt too constrained by the location and the personality of the main character. With this tenth and final book in the series, the author breaks out of the tiny village and the story ranges through a much larger realm of towns in northern Wales. She also brings Muslim terrorists into the small village. The author completely lost touch with the stories she had been writing in the series. It does not speak to her talents as a writer that she felt constrained by the setup of location and character in the series when one considers that the highly successful Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth series have flourished over the years and both series concentrate on small village life.

Evanly Bodies was so out of character to what the series had been in the beginning. The character of Evan Evans was much different from what he was at the start of the series. I believe in character growth but that growth should be in keeping with the basic nature of the character, not constructed in order to fit changing tastes in what the public likes. It makes we wonder if the author was tired of the story line or if the novels were not finding readers like they once did. Whatever the case, this book was not a good read and the series ended dismally.

[Sarah Booth · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not a bad book but it was a bit heavy for what I was looking for. So perhaps 3 stars as it is well written but the subject matter is controversial and depressing. It isn't a feel good story. Read it when you want to think. I did not. It's subjects I am aware of and care about but perhaps too intense for a cosy mystery. The rating is more a reflection on my mood than perhaps the story but It just left me depressed.

[Linda Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last book of the Constable Evans series! This was such a charming, cozy series. I will miss Constable Evans and all the quirky residents of the village of Llanfair!

[Nanette Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate to come to the end of this series, but this was a fine ending. Evan deals with serious societal issues and makes hard choices. I really gained a better understanding of Wales and Welsh culture thr these novels.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the topic of the book which I can’t reveal because it’s a spoiler!

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not a great ending to the series - this book went way off the usual for Evans and I really didn't enjoy it much.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve read other Rhys Bowen books and found them pleasant distractions, so when we cleaned out my grandmother-in-law’s house I set this book from her collection aside for a light read later. I ended up skimming it because reading the first chapter made me uncomfortable with the stereotypical, biased, and one-dimensional portrayal of the Pakistani Muslim family who moves into the Welsh village. Skimming the rest of the book didn’t give me any better feeling about it. The end of that storyline did not make any plot sense but just seemed to be there to paint Muslims as terrorists and extremists.

And the way that Evans solved the triple murder was ridiculous. That is not how these places work. Skip this one.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Final installment of the Constable Evans series. So sad to be done with it, but it does feel like she came to end of the road with this world she'd built--it was becoming increasingly difficult to root for the racist townsfolk. And even while it appears Bowen's attitudes are more progressive, there's still the fact that outsiders are almost always the guilty parties in these books. That said, I'm excited to move on to the Royal Spyness series by her.

[Sharyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so sad to see this series end!! The book covers 2 important topics that are even more serious today. Evan has some serious moral issues confronting him, so I wish this weren't the end. I do wonder how Wales has changed in the past 14 years. The characters will stay with me.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been holding out on finishing the Constable Evans series for a couple of years... because I did NOT want it to end. This was one of my favorites in the series. The villagers played a less prominent role in this book, which is probably the only reason I didn't love it 5 stars worth.

[Tatevik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last book from the series. Pity there are no more. I quite liked reading those. Way better than her other series.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. I have been reading this series for a while and it just gets better every time. Love the little Welch town and all the interesting characters, and of course Evan Evans, the (now) Detective constable, and his wife. He ends up with a new temporary team to cover "Major Crimes" in the area, and Evan is not pleased with the "leader" of the team.

[Jayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the last book of this series, and I’ll admit, it’s not my favorite Rhys Bowen series. Being the completist that I am, I’m glad to be finished with it. If you’re wanting cozy mystery, I recommend Rhys Bowen’s Royal Spyness series over this one.

[Lavins · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

A bitter sweet feeling knowing this is the last book in this series (at least as of now).
Despite the fact that it was published in 2006, the theme of this book has been used over and over by different authors. The first one to come up with the idea was, of course, Agatha Christie. So it is no surprise that i've anticipated the ending long before it was revealed.

Nevertheless a great read and I throughly enjoyed this series! I wish Rhys Bowen would decide to continue it.

[Kleine_Leseecke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zum Buch :

Eine pakistanische Familie zieht in das idyllische Llanfair. Sie übernimmt den seit einiger Zeit geschlossenen Gemischtwarenladen. Evan muss gegen Vorurteile und Ängste der Einwohner kämpfen. Der streng muslimische Sohn der Familie macht es ihm aber auch nicht einfach. 

Zeitgleich ist Evan auch noch mit einer mysteriösen Mordserie beschäftigt. Sein neuer Vorgesetzter Bragg hat Evan auf dem Kieker und lässt ihn Schreib- und Botentätigkeiten erledigen. Bis plötzlich fast die falschen verhaftet werden. 

Meine Meinung :

Dies ist der zehnte und letzte Roman rund um Evan Evans aus dem walisischen Llanfair. Der  leichte Thriller-Einschlag vom letzten Band zieht sich auch durch dieses Buch. Leider zieht sich der Fall mit der Mordserie extrem in den Vordergrund, sodass die Geschichte um die pakistanische Familie sehr vernachlässigt wird. Da wird das Potenzial nicht ausgeschöpft. Außerdem gefällt mir der Abschluss der Reihe nicht besonders. Da fehlt mir so einiges. 

[John Reis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evan and Bronwyn are now married. A Pakistani family has moved into Llanfair and created some consternation. They have a daughter named Jamila who wants to learn Welsh and a son who is quite traditional. With the new chief constable comes changes in the police department. Evans is now on the Major Crimes Unit.

A history professor is killed, shot while he’s eating breakfast at a table near a window.

DI Bragg assumes it’s the wife. She is arrested on about page 90. Then a pizzeria owner is also shot. Not long after, an unemployed machinist is killed the same, three shots to the head through a window.

This is very slow and not amusing at all. There is very little of the old Evans and Bronwen in this.

[Cfabrication · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in the conclusion.

While the standard elements - the village, Bronwen and Evan's relationship, his interactions with colleagues were well handled, I think that the subplot with the Pakistani family was heavy handed and predictable.

I think that the ending was particularly jarring. It had a "see, Pakistanis really are all terrorists" vibe that wasn't necessary. Having Special Branch step in would have been far more reasonable than Evan the Boy Scout saves them all. Except the terrorist.

[Tamara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve never been a huge fan of this particular series but hands down I found this one to be the worst of the lot. I wanted to finish the full series, having gotten this far.

Evan Evans is assigned a new team, a new lead inspector who brings obnoxious and annoying to a new level and the story takes place out of the village. Now on one hand, yes, every murder can’t happen in one small town or it would border on the ridiculous but at the same time the book read as a shift in an unwelcome new direction. Thankfully, this is the last in the series.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is so set in an unbelievably Welsh background with so many americanisms I. It might as well have been set in some American Town.
Only accidents caused the final solution to the crime

[Flossie West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good clean read.

I gave five stars due to the good story line. Well written, with no foul language and no sex. I wish more authors could do as well.

[Nancy Cook-senn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing end to a good series.

[Echo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this series went out on an unfortunate note. I was already a little apprehensive when the book started with police officers complaining about sensitivity training (though I admit it struck me as realistic - just distasteful) and a Muslim family with an extremist son moving into town. It didn't necessarily get better from there. I feel like world events going on around the time this was written really had a lot to do with the themes within the book, but it didn't make it easier for me to swallow.


At one point, the Muslim family's daughter goes missing, and Evan suspects the son might have be keeping her prisoner or even killed her, possibly. He approaches a house where the son is living with other Muslim young men and asks after the son. When the man he is talking to is hesitant to help and offended that police always assume all Muslims are terrorists, Evan comes right out and basically says, "But you have to let me see his room, because I think he's murdered his sister!" I was so shocked at how tactless and clumsy that was that I gasped out loud. Like ... Evan, aren't you better at reading the room than that? Maybe not the best thing to say to someone who has just expressed distrust of police because they ALWAYS ASSUME THE WORST. Ugh.

I was afraid the story was going to have one of the Muslim young men as the suspect for the murders, and it did indeed seem to be going that way when Evan found new evidence and had to admit he'd pointed the finger at the wrong people. But then, before the book ended, the son of the Muslim family still straps a bomb to himself and tries to kill a bunch of college kids at a campus event. It just .... felt so unnecessary.

I was also disappointed in the way the case resolved. Evan discovers the men who died were all killed by their wives, who had put up with years and years of physical and emotional abuse and met each other at a women's shelter, where made their plan. The man in charge of the case gloats about how the women deserve what's coming to them, and Evan, though he's initially uneasy because the women were ultimately defending themselves, eventually decides the law is right and he can't worry about what happens to the women. So you never find out what happens to the women, which I also found frustrating.

Basically, this was frustrating all around. And it does end with the women in the village bringing the Muslim family meals as they deal with the loss of their son, but that just felt so inadequate to make up for all the other frustrating things.

[summersoul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Constable Evan Evans genießt gerade das Eheleben mit seiner Frau Bronwen, als er nicht nur einem neuen Team zugeordnet wird, sondern dieses es gleich mit einer Mordserie zu tun bekommt. Zudem verschwindet kurz darauf die sechzehnjährige Pakistanerin Jamila, die mit ihrer Familie gerade erst nach Llanfair gezogen ist.

Ich finde man merkt Constable Evan Evans den Unmut darüber an, dass ihn sein neuer Chef Detective Inspector Bragg für unfähig hält, eigenständig zu ermitteln. Zudem scheint Bragg sich auf der einen Seite von Evan regelrecht bedroht zu fühlen. Auf der anderen Seite nimmt er Evans Ideen, in welche Richtung sie noch ermitteln könnten, aber gerne an und gibt sie noch viel lieber als seine eigenen Ideen aus. Der Kerl ist durch und durch einfach nur unsympathisch. Denn nicht nur, dass er sein Team wie unfähige Anfänger behandelt und selbst nichts hinkriegt, geht er jeder noch so haarsträubenden Vermutung nach, weswegen die Ermittlungen immer wieder ins Leere laufen.

Die Ermittlungen waren spannend und ziemlich verzwickt. Denn das erste Opfer Professor Martin Rogers ist milde ausgedrückt kein netter Geselle, der in seinem Leben oft aneckte und sich deswegen einige Feinde gemacht hat. Zudem ist nicht klar, wie der Mord an Professor Martin Rogers mit den anderen Morden zusammenhängt, da sie auf den ersten Blick bis auf den Tathergang und die Tatwaffe nichts gemeinsam haben. Ich habe Evan jedenfalls gerne bei seinen Ermittlungen begleitet und seinen Frust darüber nachempfunden, als diese mal wieder in einer Sackgasse enden. Zudem habe ich versucht, mir aus den ganzen Hinweisen zum Motiv einen Reim zu machen, um dem Täter oder der Täterin auf die Spur zu kommen.

Die Personen und Handlungsorte wurden von der Autorin so detailliert und bildreich beschrieben, dass ich sie alle vor Augen hatte und mich fühlte, als wenn ich diese selbst besuchen würde. Zudem hat mir gefallen, wie viele Gedanken sich Evan darum gemacht hat, dass er durch den neuen Fall kaum Zeit mit Bronwen verbringt und wie er dies wieder gutmachen kann.

Fazit:
Ein spannender Krimi, in dem es Constable Evan Evans mit einer verzwickten Mordserie zu tun bekommt. Da lange unklar bleibt, wie die Morde zusammenhängen und welches Motiv der Täter oder die Täterin haben könnte, war die Handlung durchweg spannend. Ich bin jedenfalls wieder gerne mit Evan auf die Verbrecherjagd gegangen, bei der mal wieder all sein Können gefragt war.

[Penelope · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY RATING GUIDE: 3.5-4 Stars. EVANLY BODIES is the 10th and final book in Rhys Bowen’s Constable Evans’ Mystery series. I enjoyed it but it left a few loose ends regarding both Evan’s future career and his wife, Bowen’s. It’s a nearly Clean read.

1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= This was okay/cute; 3.5= I LIKED THIS; 4= I LIKED THIS A LOT; 5= I Loved it, it was great! (I seldom give 5 Stars).

Snowdonia, Wales ~
Recently promoted to Plain Clothes police, Detective Constable Evan Evans finds himself the victim of a reorganizational plan at police headquarters. Rather than policing by location, new teams of Major Crime units have been created pulling together teams of constables and officers from each of the 3 local precincts. As new cases occur, a new team will be called out to address it. When a murder in an affluent Bangor home occurs, DC Evan Evans is assigned to the first team. No one is immediately arrested and soon a second murder occurs, and then a third.

Closer to home, in Llanfair, Evan and his new wife, Bronwen, are settling into their new home with new neighbors down the street and adjustments as expected.

Comments ~
1) EVANLY BODIES is the last in a 10bk series. It begins a month after bk 9 ends (with Evan and Bronwen’s wedding). Each book could be read on its own but I preferred beginning with book 1 and reading them in order, enjoying the continuing character development, the growing relationships in the villages, and the changes in the police department. I have enjoyed reading this series which I borrowed through my local public library.
2) Several loose ends were left dangling at the end of this final book, but there were not enough for me to feel disappointed. EVANLY BODIES dealt with a few weightier subjects - change, communication, basic kindness and respect.
3) I recommend EVAN BODIES (and this series) to readers who enjoy Cozy Mysteries and British (Welsh) Mysteries. EB was a pretty quick and easy read but it included thought provoking moments, as well. I enjoyed reading this series between longer books and/or different genres.

READER CAUTION ~
PROFANITY - Yes. Strong language was used infrequently/rarely.
VIOLENCE - PG. Not particularly dark or graphic.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS - None.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evanly Bodies by Rhys Bowen is the 10th and final book of the Constable Evans mystery series set in contemporary Wales. Evan has achieved his career goal of becoming a detective, and his personal goal of marrying Bronwen. In addition, he has restored the sheepherder's cottage up on the mountain, and it is their cozy home.

The Wales police force has reorganized, and Evan is now on a special task force. Seemingly a fast track to promotion, it's really a bad fit for all involved. The detective in charge is an insecure bully, picking on the detectives on his team, resenting their talents. The team is tasked with solving a series of murders in which the victims are shot through an open window at their home during breakfast. The college history professor, Italian restaurant owner, and unemployed machinist victims don't seem to have any connection to one another.

Back in Llanfair, a Muslim family has opened a grocery. The women of town are happy; a local shop saves them travel to a larger town down the mountain; the men are biased against foreigners. Bronwen becomes good friends with Jamila, the teenage daughter.

Jamila comes to Evan's and Bronwen's home in great distress. Her militant brother Rashid is against her friendship with non-Muslim students, and has convinced their parents to send Jamila back to Pakistan for an arranged marriage with an old man. Bronwen promises to speak to the parents, but it does no good; perhaps makes things worse. Then Jamila disappears.

Evan eventually stumbles across the link between the murders, as he learns what has become of Jamila. In a tense conclusion, Evan comes to the rescue of all but Rashid (good riddance!). I'll miss reading this series. It seems a shame it ends just as Evan and Bronwen start their life together.

[Tiffany Kathryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me start off my saying Her Royal Spyness is one of my favorite series. I stumbled upon Evan Eva’s books by Rhys Bowen over the holidays and tore through the sweet welsh mystery books. This book may have turned me off to Rhys Bowen for life. Evan is brought in confidence to a battered woman’s shelter and promises to keep the woman and their secrets safe. Instead he violates the privacy and safety of these woman who have been abused, raped, thrown down stairs to endure e miscarriages, had their lives controlled, victims of coercive control, financial abuse and isolation from all of their friends and family. They have lived in terror for decades with the police (or mainly men) refusing to help them. With no where to go they flew to this shelter. Not only does Evan violate the rules of confidentiality, he disclosed the location of the shelter and seeks to have these woman put away for life do protecting themselves the only way they knew how (clear battered woman syndrome) I was appalled and disgusted and highly disappointed in the characters and the author for trying to justify that woman fleeing from DV should be seen as the abusers not the victims. All they were ever trying to do was stay alive when their family friends society and the law had failed them time and time again. Simply disgusted.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenth in the Constable Evans mystery series based in Wales and revolving around a Welsh policeman.

My Take
A clash of cultures, a seemingly unrelated series of murders, a brief glimpse into the strife at the Evanses just as Evans is promoted to a new and irritating unit at work and Bronwen is struggling to adapt to a much larger school and student population with the closure of the village school, and, lastly, the tragic perspective too many still have on spousal abuse.

It's adjustments for both as Evans regrets the easy back-and-forth he had enjoyed with DI Watkins and DC Davies with respect held all around and his current idiot supervisor. Bronwen has a nasty commute to school now with bigger classes and a much wider disparity in achievement levels amongst the children.

On a more professional level, an unexpected intervention provides the clue which solves the greater mystery. Social issues in the village arise when a Pakistani family buys the vacant grocery store and we learn a bit about the Khans' culture. Issues which aren't helped by the belligerent attitude taken up by Mr. Khan toward the Evanses when his daughter disappears. I did enjoy the international response to distress within a family at the end.

The Story
They'll be needing that 4-wheel drive soon with all the trouble both Evan and Bronwen are having transporting themselves back and forth to their new cottage up the mountain---and I would suggest that Evans work on a series of paved steps to help them negotiate that slope until they can acquire such a vehicle. Luckily, Bronwen encounters Jamila Khan who helps her carry her groceries up to the cottage.

Meanwhile, there's a new Chief Constable with new ideas that are shaking up the North Wales police. The typical shake-up---lovely ideas with not a great deal of thought put into it. He's eager to try out his new Major Incident Teams idea which turns out to not have been so well thought out. It's in the middle of this initial briefing that a call comes in for a murder and the first Major Incident Team goes out: DI Bragg, DS Wingate, and DCs Pritchard and Evans.

Three of the men quickly find out it's more of a punishment detail but they slog through this first murder as well as the next ones. In which Bragg quickly exposes himself as a jerk who will ride his men into the dirt and take all the credit while Evans rides to the rescue and uncovers the necessary clues which connect all the dots.

There's personal tragedy in the village when Jamila pours her heart out about her parents' marriage plans for her to Bronwen who takes her own frustration out on Jamila's parents. Rashid. Well, Rashid is a bit manic about his Muslim ideals and both the Khans and the Evanses become frantic when Jamila disappears---for different reasons. Parents can be amazingly blind.

The first murder victim for the Major Incident team is the History Chair at the University of Wales in Bangor—Professor Martin Rogers. The second is Luigi Alessi, the proprietor of Papa Luigi's Italian restaurant. The third is Terry Owens, an unemployed machinist.

There is no commonality amongst these men except death and it takes the observant Evans to sleuth it out.

The Characters
The newlyweds, Detective Constable Evan and Bronwen Price Evans, are settling nicely into their new cottage in which Bronwen comes to learn just what Evan meant about being a policeman's wife. DI Watkins and DC Glynis Davies have some brief encounters with Evans, particularly in regards to the missing Jamila. Watkins seems all right with Evans' promotion while Davies is a bit shirty. The new Chief Constable Mathry is quite jolly and insisting on new uniforms for the beat police and lots of sensitivity training for everyone although Mathry could use some sensitivity himself what with his referring to DC Davies as young lady and miss! The Division Commanders include Morris, Talley, and Jones. Seems Evans was suggested for the new unit by DCI Hughes. Been showing Hughes up just a bit too much.

The first Major Incident Team consists of Detective Inspector Bragg with a name that is short for his own character---a one-sided braggart with no social skills and a penchant for humiliation; Detective Sergeant Wingate who is derided for his higher education and isn't afraid to dish it back; Detective Constable Pritchard who is as fed up as the rest; and, of course, our DC Evans.

Azeem Khan is the father working with his son, Rashid, on renovating the interior of the grocery store they've just purchased in Llanfair. His wife is not well and Mr. Khan's hope is that the peace and clean air of Llanfair will help; his daughter, Jamila, is in school

Mrs. Williams was Evans' landlady when he first arrived in Llanfair; she's great friends with Mair Hopkins. Both ladies are looking forward to a grocery store right in the village instead of having to take the bus into Llanberis. Mrs. Powell-Jones is the wife of one of the religious men of the village with a very firm sense of right and wrong; a right bitch she is. Mrs. Prendergast runs a shelter for battered women.

A very brief encounter at the start and the end with Llanfair's inhabitants: Betsy and Barry-the-Bucket, Evans-the-Meat the militant Welshman who is surprisingly in favor of the Pakis, Evans-the-Post, Evans-the-Milk, and Charlie Hopkins to get their reactions to the sale.

The Cover and Title
The cover is a lovely watercolor effect of a bucolic landscape composed of two cottages set apart from each other amongst the rolling hills with a multiple-arched bridge spanning a gentle river and a panda car flashing its lights.

I can only imagine that Evanly Bodies refers to the three men murdered.