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Max Tudor #7
In Prior's Wood
Newly returned from investigating a murder in Monkslip-super-Mare, handsome Max Tudor wants nothing more than to settle back into his predictable routine as vicar of St. Edwold’s Church in the village of Nether Monkslip. But the flow of his sermon on Bathsheba is interrupted when the lady of the local manor house is found in a suicide pact with her young lover.
Lady Duxter’s husband rallies quickly from the double tragedy―too quickly, it is murmured in the village. Lord Duxter already has offered his manor house to a motley crew of writers, including Max’s wife Awena, for his writers� retreat, and he insists the show must go on.
When a young girl goes missing and a crime writer becomes a target, DCI Cotton asks Max to lend his MI5 expertise to the investigation.
Many suspects emerge as the scope of the investigation widens beyond the writers to villagers who had crossed swords with the insufferably smug crime author. But Max begins to wonder: was the attack on the writer only part of a broader conspiracy of silence?
Lady Duxter’s husband rallies quickly from the double tragedy―too quickly, it is murmured in the village. Lord Duxter already has offered his manor house to a motley crew of writers, including Max’s wife Awena, for his writers� retreat, and he insists the show must go on.
When a young girl goes missing and a crime writer becomes a target, DCI Cotton asks Max to lend his MI5 expertise to the investigation.
Many suspects emerge as the scope of the investigation widens beyond the writers to villagers who had crossed swords with the insufferably smug crime author. But Max begins to wonder: was the attack on the writer only part of a broader conspiracy of silence?
281 pages, Hardcover
First published April 17, 2018
141 people are currently reading
190 people want to read
About the author
G.M. Malliet
39Ìýbooks677ÌýfollowersG.M. Malliet is the author of three mystery series; a dozen or more short stories published in The Strand, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine; and WEYCOMBE, a standalone suspense novel.
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Her Agatha Award-winning Death of a Cozy Writer (2008), the first installment of the DCI St. Just mysteries, was named one of the ten best novels of the year by Kirkus Reviews. Subsequent Max Tudor novels were Agatha finalists.
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Her Agatha Award-winning Death of a Cozy Writer (2008), the first installment of the DCI St. Just mysteries, was named one of the ten best novels of the year by Kirkus Reviews. Subsequent Max Tudor novels were Agatha finalists.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
July 9, 2018
Mysterious, intriguing, and atmospheric!
In this latest novel by Malliet, In Prior’s Wood, we head back to the quaint English village of Nether Monkslip where Max Tudor, the former spy turned clergyman, finds himself once again immersed in a case with DCI Cotton that quickly unravels from a double suicide into an elaborate scheme of deception, lies, infidelity, jealousy, obsession, and murder.
The writing style is descriptive and light. The setting and mood are authentic and vivid. The characters, including the sharp, handsome hero, are well-developed, quirky, and multilayered. And the plot is a well-paced, witty whodunit that has a nice mix of misdirection, clues, suspects, red herrings, solid deduction, and drama.
In Prior’s Wood is the seventh book in the Max Tudor series, and if you love British cozy mysteries, this novel will not disappoint. It is a fun, twisty, easy read that is refreshing and highly entertaining.
Thank you to Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
All my reviews can be found on my blog at
In this latest novel by Malliet, In Prior’s Wood, we head back to the quaint English village of Nether Monkslip where Max Tudor, the former spy turned clergyman, finds himself once again immersed in a case with DCI Cotton that quickly unravels from a double suicide into an elaborate scheme of deception, lies, infidelity, jealousy, obsession, and murder.
The writing style is descriptive and light. The setting and mood are authentic and vivid. The characters, including the sharp, handsome hero, are well-developed, quirky, and multilayered. And the plot is a well-paced, witty whodunit that has a nice mix of misdirection, clues, suspects, red herrings, solid deduction, and drama.
In Prior’s Wood is the seventh book in the Max Tudor series, and if you love British cozy mysteries, this novel will not disappoint. It is a fun, twisty, easy read that is refreshing and highly entertaining.
Thank you to Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
All my reviews can be found on my blog at
April 4, 2018
I first came in contact with the series when I read the previous book, DEVIL'S BREATH, and I liked it very much. When I got the chance to read IN PRIOR'S WOOD, I was thrilled over the prospect of once again reading about Max Tudor, ex-spy, vicar of St. Edwold's Church in the village of Nether Monkslip. A vicar that now and then solves crimes...
READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT !
READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT !
April 13, 2023
Horrid is the only word I can use to describe this book. I have read all of Malliet's prior mysteries and this one will probably stop me from reading another. The first half of the book has Max thinking thoughts like he would die if ever anything happened to Awena and other thoughts that would be hard to believe MI 5 have. This wouldn't be important except that it takes the place of the set up for the book. Three quarters of the way into the book the author decides that laying out the story for the readers to try and guess the ending is way too much work. Instead, it is filled with Max explaining the entire story with much of it being information that was never given to begin with. This is not a long book so when a quarter of it is the summation, (even if the material is being presented for the first time it is still the summation) there is almost no story to it! Just a total waste of time!!
April 24, 2019
When the wife of the local lord and the husband of the lord’s librarian are involved in what appears to be a suicide pact, the village of Nether Monkslip at first buys that news. But soon DCI Cotton begins to suspect that the incident, which left Colin Frost dead, and Marina, Lady Duxter of Monkslip, in a coma, was actually murder. As Cotton so often does, he turns to Anglican priest Max Tudor, onetime MI5 agent turned local vicar.
I appreciated that Father Max’s wife, Awena Owen, played a large role in In Prior’s Wood, as she’d be absent from the previous novel. She had numerous good insights into the crime. As in , author G.M. Malliet didn’t really play fair in this, the seventh novel in this excellent series, and readers are unlikely to figure out the perpetrator; however, the novel was so charming that, this time, I didn’t much care.
I appreciated that Father Max’s wife, Awena Owen, played a large role in In Prior’s Wood, as she’d be absent from the previous novel. She had numerous good insights into the crime. As in , author G.M. Malliet didn’t really play fair in this, the seventh novel in this excellent series, and readers are unlikely to figure out the perpetrator; however, the novel was so charming that, this time, I didn’t much care.
June 26, 2018
I have enjoyed this series since the beginning, but this book lacked the panache of the earlier books. The author spent too much time describing each thought and action, that when an event happened, the reader had lost track of the event. I love the characters, but even the characters showed flatness and dullness. The book fell into such blandness, that not a scene remains in my memory. This could possibly be the demise of Max Tudor as future reading for me.
January 19, 2018
I so enjoy this series, it's like reading a "Midsomer Murders" episode! The Fr. Max Tudor books just keep getting better and better. Many thanks to the author for my (autographed) advance copy 😊
May 3, 2018
She got me again. I did not know who was the culprit. Max’s neighborhood is peopled with some real tricky characters.
April 29, 2018
This series does not improve over time. The book was published less than two weeks ago, and it is not on short loan at the library--no line. That says something. This one is somewhat better than the last one, in that Max Tudor is not nearly so much as a sap as he was in the last one, but the author has taken to referencing her own books in the story--her books for sale, that sort of thing. Really too egotistical. The characters have conversations which no real people would have, in which they tell each other things that they would obviously already know. Too much repetition. This book has a dead giveaway early on to anyone who is paying any attention at all, and the author cheats and withholds significant information from the reader, so, other than the giveaway, one couldn't figure out what is going on because one doesn't have all the facts. I will not go out of my way to read any more of these.
November 17, 2018
No. 7 in the Father Max Tudor (formerly of MI5) mystery series, is an enjoyable and relaxing read. Father Max is drawn into another local investigation - this time peeling back the the layers on what appears to be a murder-suicide. Doth the grieving widow/step-mom protesteth too much? Although not the best story in the series, this certainly was a good and enjoyable installment.
May 18, 2021
I have finished reading the entire Max Tudor series for the third and probably final time. I devoured these books when they first came out, bought all of them and read them on vacations. I love the first 4 books, but they go downhill from there and this last one is the worst. Max repeating everything over and over and explaining everything over and over and over and then Cotton asking the same things over and over so Max has to explain them again.... Plus the story is weak. I wonder if the author even had a plan, or just wrote the ending in a hurry because she also was tired of all the repetition. Half the lead-ins to the ending were never even mentioned anywhere before.
Where are the beloved characters? Awena is barely mentioned, and most of the villagers are only alluded to. We love the Nether Monkslippers! But they are not in this book. Heck, even Cotton is minimally part of the story. And what of his new family? They are just an afterthought. I read these books more for the characters than the actual mystery/murder plot and this one leaves me cold.
It doesn't look like there will ever be another Max Tudor/ Nether Monkslip book, but if there is I hope more thought is put into it than this one.
Where are the beloved characters? Awena is barely mentioned, and most of the villagers are only alluded to. We love the Nether Monkslippers! But they are not in this book. Heck, even Cotton is minimally part of the story. And what of his new family? They are just an afterthought. I read these books more for the characters than the actual mystery/murder plot and this one leaves me cold.
It doesn't look like there will ever be another Max Tudor/ Nether Monkslip book, but if there is I hope more thought is put into it than this one.
May 23, 2018
In this seventh book in the series, Father Max Tudor is confronted with a pair of deaths in his parish---the deaths of the lady of the local manor house and her young lover, husband of Jane, librarian at a writers' retreat nearby. With his usual gift for seeing what others overlook, Max joins forces with the constabulary to attempt to uncover the truth about the mysterious deaths.
During the final few chapters, Max reveals what he has discovered in conversations with his good friend, DCI Cotton; I found this to be a rather disappointing method of imparting to the reader the mystery's solution. It felt as if the author needed to quickly wrap up the tale before she hit page 300.
During the final few chapters, Max reveals what he has discovered in conversations with his good friend, DCI Cotton; I found this to be a rather disappointing method of imparting to the reader the mystery's solution. It felt as if the author needed to quickly wrap up the tale before she hit page 300.
November 13, 2020
I picked this book up cheap, looking for a new cosy mystery series to get into. I looked like it had potential.
Unfortunately I just couldn't get into it at all. I got a good third of the way in and I was still wondering when the story was going to start.
I persevered for as long as I could, but the whole book felt like it was "telling" me about interesting things that had happened, rather than showing me.
In the end, DNF.
Unfortunately I just couldn't get into it at all. I got a good third of the way in and I was still wondering when the story was going to start.
I persevered for as long as I could, but the whole book felt like it was "telling" me about interesting things that had happened, rather than showing me.
In the end, DNF.
May 1, 2018
I think I'm over these GM Malliet mysteries. Perhaps it is my imagination, but the earlier books seemed to be cozier, more about the people in the village, more character development of Max and Adwena. Alas, this had unlikable characters committing unlikely crimes and well, I just didn't care. The whole thing was not ACTIVE. Everything was reported later. zzzzzzz
April 20, 2018
So happy that you are back, Max! I have missed you! In G.M.Malliet’s In Prior’s Woods (Max Tudor #7), Max, vicar of St. Edwold’s Church in the village of Nether Monkslip,, wishes all to go ‘settle back into his predictable routine�, but that does not quite happen. The author has written a dynamic village mystery with ex-MI5 Max Tudor turned vicar assisting DCI Cotton as death possibly murder returns to Nether Monkslip. A priory which became defunct thanks to Henry VIII’s Dissolution of anything Roman Catholic is purchased by a member of Nether Monkslip and turned into a writer’s retreat. Max becomes involved when two people are discovered most likely dead in a suicide pact, but is that what truly happened? Then a teenager goes missing. Is she another death to add to the list? The day this book arrived I started reading it, and I did not put it down until I finished. I love this series. Well done and congratulations, Ms. Malliet! A intriguing addition to the Max Tudor Mysteries!
June 23, 2018
With romances being the majority of my fictive reading, it’s nice to have an occasional palate cleanser. More often than not, I turn to a cozy mystery to serve as such. Even though G. M. Malliet is a new to me author and I am loathe, being conservative in temperament, to risk the loss of precious reading time to an author who may prove to be unworthy of it, I cannot resist a vicar hero � and, in this case, who is also former-MI-5. I blame it all on James Norton’s ample charms on Grantchester and my long-running love of Spooks/MI-5 and the enjoyment of feasting eyes on Matthew Macfadyen, David Oweloyo, Rupert Penry Jones, and Richard Armitage in one glorious long-running series.
Malliet’s vicar-hero is a stunning man unaware of his stunningness, which makes him eminently lovable, adorable, and likeable. His occasional partner in crime-solving is his Wiccan wife, Awena, as well as the young, intelligent local “copper,� DCI Cotton. They all live in a conglomeration of little English towns with variations on the name Monkslip and in his vicar-guise Max is in charge of the souls and bodies of St. Edwold’s Church’s parishioners.
I admit to being an indifferent mystery reader, that is, any and all plot details are read distractedly, but if characterizations capture me, then I’m likely to follow a writer through her career, amble along never missing any volume added to a series. (May I say that Malliet, though I’d return to her books, did not supplant my great love of C. S. Harris’s St. Cyr mysteries. I’m hoarding the latest for my summer reading.) Suffice to say, Monkslip, like Midsummer Murders, boasts great local, colourful characters, English countryside, sufficient references to local flora, fauna, and cuisine to make me yearn all over again for England, and a thoroughly moral, intelligent, sensitive protagonist in the Reverent Max Tudor. Max’s Monkslip includes a Lord Duxter, formerly David Bottom, until he ascended to knighthood, who bought a priory from King’s College, Wooten Priory, and turned it into a writer’s retreat as a charitable offside to his publishing business, Wooten Press. The eponymous “Prior’s Wood� and everything surrounding Lord Duxter, is the scene of both an ancient and contemporary crime. The plot centres around the solving of the latter. (I hope to see more of the former in the next book, as it fascinated me equally.)
Malliet captured me and will bring me back to her series (the back list is already wending its way to me from Amazonia) because her writing is witty, succinct, and engaging, and her principal characters so likeable, I’d like to reach into the book and hug them. She achieves this characterization by writing well and with pith. Take, for example, one of the characters whose fate it is to be involved in the novel’s crime scene, the husband of Wooten Priory’s archivist/librarian, Colin Frost: “Colin was, in fact, a good-looking dolt, rather naïve and pliable. A man of modest accomplishments married to a woman of stunning ordinariness.� Frankly, I hooted with laughter and continued to sport a kind of snorty-smile-laugh as I read through to the end.
Max himself makes for much of the series’s attraction. Note how Malliet cleverly makes him humble, charming, and heart-throbbingly good-looking enough to satisfy any romance reader’s heart: “Parishioners were known to borrow or even invent problems to bring to Max when they had no real problems of their own. There was something so soothing in his manner they felt the lightening of a burden shared, before they remembered there had been no real problem in the first place.� As Max becomes embroiled in the murder that happens “in Prior’s Wood� and which involves an unearthing of familial and community deceptions and evils, he is partnered (as, I understand, he’s been in previous books) with DCI Cotton, who is also young and principled, yet serves as a character counterpoint to Max: “Max always wanted to believe the best in people. It was the chink in his armor, that he was always surprised by man’s inhumanity. Max’s Pollyanna tendencies were legendary among those who knew him well. And whereas Max was saddened and sometimes angered by the knowledge of man’s inhumanity to man, Cotton was simply angered.� In a nutshell, Malliet drew me in and made me want to journey with Cotton, with Max, with Awena (and the Tudors� delightful baby boy, Owen). Malliet has achieved a winning world here by making her main characters virtuous without being smarmy, good without judgement, and engaging without twee, which is the cozy mystery’s weakness.
If you’re an Agatha Christie fan, then you’ll certainly love Malliet’s series. Her nods and allusions to one of the genre’s greatest practitioners proves Malliet as good a reader of the genre as writer. And, if you’re, like me, ignorant of Christie (not out of dislike, but out of the reader’s bane of “so many books, so little time�) then, you’ll love Max and his cohort of adorables. And you’ll love Malliet’s turns of phrase, my favourite being her nod to LeCarré and pithy description of Max’s life’s “dichotomy� as “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Priest.� I thoroughly enjoyed In Prior’s Wood and I’ll return to Monkslip’s denizens for any and all future volumes. With Miss Austen, who would have appreciated Malliet’s fine sense of irony, I say In Prior’s Wood is evidence of “a mind lively and at ease,� Emma.
G. M. Malliet’s In Prior’s Wood is published by Minotaur Books. It was released on April 17th and may be procured at your preferred vendor. I received an e-ARC from Minotaur Books, via Netgalley.
Malliet’s vicar-hero is a stunning man unaware of his stunningness, which makes him eminently lovable, adorable, and likeable. His occasional partner in crime-solving is his Wiccan wife, Awena, as well as the young, intelligent local “copper,� DCI Cotton. They all live in a conglomeration of little English towns with variations on the name Monkslip and in his vicar-guise Max is in charge of the souls and bodies of St. Edwold’s Church’s parishioners.
I admit to being an indifferent mystery reader, that is, any and all plot details are read distractedly, but if characterizations capture me, then I’m likely to follow a writer through her career, amble along never missing any volume added to a series. (May I say that Malliet, though I’d return to her books, did not supplant my great love of C. S. Harris’s St. Cyr mysteries. I’m hoarding the latest for my summer reading.) Suffice to say, Monkslip, like Midsummer Murders, boasts great local, colourful characters, English countryside, sufficient references to local flora, fauna, and cuisine to make me yearn all over again for England, and a thoroughly moral, intelligent, sensitive protagonist in the Reverent Max Tudor. Max’s Monkslip includes a Lord Duxter, formerly David Bottom, until he ascended to knighthood, who bought a priory from King’s College, Wooten Priory, and turned it into a writer’s retreat as a charitable offside to his publishing business, Wooten Press. The eponymous “Prior’s Wood� and everything surrounding Lord Duxter, is the scene of both an ancient and contemporary crime. The plot centres around the solving of the latter. (I hope to see more of the former in the next book, as it fascinated me equally.)
Malliet captured me and will bring me back to her series (the back list is already wending its way to me from Amazonia) because her writing is witty, succinct, and engaging, and her principal characters so likeable, I’d like to reach into the book and hug them. She achieves this characterization by writing well and with pith. Take, for example, one of the characters whose fate it is to be involved in the novel’s crime scene, the husband of Wooten Priory’s archivist/librarian, Colin Frost: “Colin was, in fact, a good-looking dolt, rather naïve and pliable. A man of modest accomplishments married to a woman of stunning ordinariness.� Frankly, I hooted with laughter and continued to sport a kind of snorty-smile-laugh as I read through to the end.
Max himself makes for much of the series’s attraction. Note how Malliet cleverly makes him humble, charming, and heart-throbbingly good-looking enough to satisfy any romance reader’s heart: “Parishioners were known to borrow or even invent problems to bring to Max when they had no real problems of their own. There was something so soothing in his manner they felt the lightening of a burden shared, before they remembered there had been no real problem in the first place.� As Max becomes embroiled in the murder that happens “in Prior’s Wood� and which involves an unearthing of familial and community deceptions and evils, he is partnered (as, I understand, he’s been in previous books) with DCI Cotton, who is also young and principled, yet serves as a character counterpoint to Max: “Max always wanted to believe the best in people. It was the chink in his armor, that he was always surprised by man’s inhumanity. Max’s Pollyanna tendencies were legendary among those who knew him well. And whereas Max was saddened and sometimes angered by the knowledge of man’s inhumanity to man, Cotton was simply angered.� In a nutshell, Malliet drew me in and made me want to journey with Cotton, with Max, with Awena (and the Tudors� delightful baby boy, Owen). Malliet has achieved a winning world here by making her main characters virtuous without being smarmy, good without judgement, and engaging without twee, which is the cozy mystery’s weakness.
If you’re an Agatha Christie fan, then you’ll certainly love Malliet’s series. Her nods and allusions to one of the genre’s greatest practitioners proves Malliet as good a reader of the genre as writer. And, if you’re, like me, ignorant of Christie (not out of dislike, but out of the reader’s bane of “so many books, so little time�) then, you’ll love Max and his cohort of adorables. And you’ll love Malliet’s turns of phrase, my favourite being her nod to LeCarré and pithy description of Max’s life’s “dichotomy� as “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Priest.� I thoroughly enjoyed In Prior’s Wood and I’ll return to Monkslip’s denizens for any and all future volumes. With Miss Austen, who would have appreciated Malliet’s fine sense of irony, I say In Prior’s Wood is evidence of “a mind lively and at ease,� Emma.
G. M. Malliet’s In Prior’s Wood is published by Minotaur Books. It was released on April 17th and may be procured at your preferred vendor. I received an e-ARC from Minotaur Books, via Netgalley.
July 12, 2018
The author says it herself. The publisher is considering a book proposal about a vicar who was formerly MI5 and thinks it sounds, "boring as hell."
I'd found nothing of interest to that point and decided it was time to move on to a more interesting read. I was disappointed since I'd liked earlier books in the series.
I'd found nothing of interest to that point and decided it was time to move on to a more interesting read. I was disappointed since I'd liked earlier books in the series.
January 31, 2019
Sorry this is a very dull book. The first half is taken up with finding out who all the characters are which is way too many. The plot finally kicks in and something happens!!! The last 3 chapters are taken up explaining why the killer did it. There is a dog and a cat in this book and they would have worked it out quicker. I won't be looking out for anymore of this books.
September 24, 2020
Another fine entry in the series set in the fictitious Nether Monkslip, with an apparent suicide pact, a slew of suspicious characters having affairs, and Max's wife, Awena, caught up in it all because of a writer's retreat sponsored by her publisher. Max, the MI6 agent-turned-Episcopal priest, is again asked to lend his sleuthing skills to figure out what exactly happened. I wasn't able to predict the killer, which is always enough to give a book three stars; a fourth for the wonderful depictions of cozy, nosy village life, reminiscent of St. Mary Mead. My only quibble: near the end, the author refers to Max as "babysitting" Owen - his own son! Where I come from, we call that "parenting."
July 26, 2018
My favorite in the series. Very clever.
December 26, 2021
This series is one that I think I should like, I want to like but don't love. There was a good mystery which was easy to solve. But at the end, Max kept rehashing the mystery with various characters. It was like the story had finished and the author needed to stretch out the book.
November 15, 2018
It's a complex cast of characters revolving around the desanctified priory purchased by life peer Lord Duxter, and used as a writers' retreat and library as well as the Duxter home. Surrounding the priory is an extensive woodland, already the home to local stories about a girl who went missing in Victorian times. Now, the body in the woods is that of an annoying amateur magician/expert in cybersecurity, recently returned from Saudi Arabia for his grandmother's funeral. He's found in a car with Lady Duxter, victim of an apparent suicide pact. Max Tudor, the local vicar (and former MI-5 agent), has his doubts, and once again he and Inspector Cotton are on the case. There's rather a lot to unpick, what with marriages that were not what they seemed, a teenager (or two) with a grudge against a stepparent, an obnoxious writer with something to hide...and more. Not to mention the hideous stained glass window Max is expected to install at St. Edwald's. The life of a country vicar is never quiet--if you happen to be the star of a mystery series.
I've enjoyed this series so far (well, not the one I read last, can't remember the title), which has most of the things I like; English country town, amateur detective, motives that rarely have to do with drugs, gang violence, the Mafia, etc., lots of quirky characters, wonderful setting descriptions, and so forth. I guess the reason I didn't give this four stars is that I'm more aware of the cynicism of the author in describing her characters--she has a very acerbic wit, and it would sit better with me if she found something redeeming in the characters (admittedly, she does in Max and his family, and Cotton, which is why I've continued with the series). I keep comparing this series to the Donna Andrews series, which is full of immensely quirky characters, but they're mostly pretty lovable despite their quirks, and all but the villains are basically good people. There's much more love in those books, and while these are perhaps more realistic in their flawed characters, I'm not reading for depressing realism. I guess the negativity kind of gets me down. But they're very clever, and if you prefer sharply witty observations about people, you'll love these books. I did think the explication of the murder dragged on way too long--we needed those clues earlier, because I don't think even the keenest reader could have solved the mystery without all the clues revealed later (which is kind of cheating).
I've enjoyed this series so far (well, not the one I read last, can't remember the title), which has most of the things I like; English country town, amateur detective, motives that rarely have to do with drugs, gang violence, the Mafia, etc., lots of quirky characters, wonderful setting descriptions, and so forth. I guess the reason I didn't give this four stars is that I'm more aware of the cynicism of the author in describing her characters--she has a very acerbic wit, and it would sit better with me if she found something redeeming in the characters (admittedly, she does in Max and his family, and Cotton, which is why I've continued with the series). I keep comparing this series to the Donna Andrews series, which is full of immensely quirky characters, but they're mostly pretty lovable despite their quirks, and all but the villains are basically good people. There's much more love in those books, and while these are perhaps more realistic in their flawed characters, I'm not reading for depressing realism. I guess the negativity kind of gets me down. But they're very clever, and if you prefer sharply witty observations about people, you'll love these books. I did think the explication of the murder dragged on way too long--we needed those clues earlier, because I don't think even the keenest reader could have solved the mystery without all the clues revealed later (which is kind of cheating).
March 24, 2021
Definitely a cozy, cozy mystery. I had trouble keeping some of the characters' backstory straight and couldn't muster the enthusiasm to care. Max and Edwina are apparently the most compatible couple despite very different world views. Good book to read at bedtime as the slow pace and lack of drama totally lulled me to sleep.
November 23, 2023
Number 7 in the Max Tudor series.
I have to admit that I found this one to be my least favourite. Although the writing itself is very good, as always, the story line, for me, was ponderous. I fell asleep reading this one, twice.
Thankfully Max takes the last third of the book to explain the murders...my weary brain didn't have enough energy to work things out on its own.
I have to admit that I found this one to be my least favourite. Although the writing itself is very good, as always, the story line, for me, was ponderous. I fell asleep reading this one, twice.
Thankfully Max takes the last third of the book to explain the murders...my weary brain didn't have enough energy to work things out on its own.
January 18, 2018
Note: this is an advance reader's copy received from the publisher as a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ giveaway.
Another Father Max mystery, involving secrets, murder, and scandal. I love how the author creates the atmosphere of the Monkslips.
Another Father Max mystery, involving secrets, murder, and scandal. I love how the author creates the atmosphere of the Monkslips.
June 23, 2018
This book dragged on way too long after the whodunnit was figured out. Yet another mystery series that I started in the middle, I won't be going back to the beginning on this series. I couldn't get interested in the mismatched characters portrayed in the book.
March 23, 2018
Max Tudor is the handsome vicar of St. Edwold's Church in the small English village of Nether Monkslip. His friend and frequent partner in sleuthing, DCI Cotton, asks for Max's help with a case in which Lady Duxter appears to have made a suicide pact with a young, married lover. Lord Duxter seems more interested in the writer's retreat he hosts at his manor house than the tragedy involving his wife. Although, Max would rather work on his sermons and spend time with his unconventional wife and their young son, he can't turn down Cotton's request for help investigating the case, especially when it now appears a teenaged girl's life could be in danger.
"In Prior's Wood" begins with a "Cast of Characters" right out a classic Agatha Christie mystery. Like a "Miss Marple" mystery, Malliet's latest also takes place in a small village in England. However, Max Tudor is not the typical, old-fashioned vicar. The handsome, intelligent Anglican priest is a former MI5 agent and his wife, Awena, is a Wiccan who owns a shop filled with various New Age items. With the differences in their beliefs, Max and Awena are an unlikely couple and yet their love for each other is true and one of the things that makes this series so special. Another highlight of the book is the author's subtle humor. For example, Lord Duxter reads a proposal sent to his publishing company that outlines a book about a vicar who used to be an MI5 agent and Duxter proclaims the idea "boring." The author's quick wit is demonstrated throughout the book, which makes it a pleasure to read.
I haven't read all of the previous books in this series, but it's easy to connect with the characters and the story. "In Prior's Wood" is the most engaging out of the books in the series that I have read. The murder investigation kept my interest from beginning to end. The plot details are complex and there is more than meets the eye with many of the characters. When the truth comes out about what really happened with Lady Dexter and also the missing teenager, it's surprising. There is a sub-plot with a "ghost story" about another teen girl who went missing from Prior's Wood in the 1800s that adds atmosphere and a little tension to an already intriguing mystery. "In Prior's Wood" has all the best elements of a classic British cozy mystery, but with more complexity to better entertain modern readers.
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Minotaur books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review
"In Prior's Wood" begins with a "Cast of Characters" right out a classic Agatha Christie mystery. Like a "Miss Marple" mystery, Malliet's latest also takes place in a small village in England. However, Max Tudor is not the typical, old-fashioned vicar. The handsome, intelligent Anglican priest is a former MI5 agent and his wife, Awena, is a Wiccan who owns a shop filled with various New Age items. With the differences in their beliefs, Max and Awena are an unlikely couple and yet their love for each other is true and one of the things that makes this series so special. Another highlight of the book is the author's subtle humor. For example, Lord Duxter reads a proposal sent to his publishing company that outlines a book about a vicar who used to be an MI5 agent and Duxter proclaims the idea "boring." The author's quick wit is demonstrated throughout the book, which makes it a pleasure to read.
I haven't read all of the previous books in this series, but it's easy to connect with the characters and the story. "In Prior's Wood" is the most engaging out of the books in the series that I have read. The murder investigation kept my interest from beginning to end. The plot details are complex and there is more than meets the eye with many of the characters. When the truth comes out about what really happened with Lady Dexter and also the missing teenager, it's surprising. There is a sub-plot with a "ghost story" about another teen girl who went missing from Prior's Wood in the 1800s that adds atmosphere and a little tension to an already intriguing mystery. "In Prior's Wood" has all the best elements of a classic British cozy mystery, but with more complexity to better entertain modern readers.
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Minotaur books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review
January 23, 2019
I’ve finished this series to date. This book had a pretty intriguing plot line, and a good mystery, it kept me fairly interested. I give it an extra star for that. It takes place largely in the main village of Nether Monkslip, which I find to always be a plus. Whenever Malliet’s capable writing focuses on the the lives of everyday people, it is very strong. But I always find I want to like this series more than each actual book. I mean what’s not to like about a dashing vicar detective, his Wiccan wife, and a charming English village in the bizarrely named county of Monkslip?
Alas, while reading the series I noticed it takes me forever to finish a single book. The series doesn’t grab me in an obsessive kind of way. I think Malliet is a solid writer, but I’ve noticed she has problems with the pacing of the books. The intros can drag on too long, or sometimes I’ll notice a paragraph that is very similar to a paragraph I read a few pages ago. I think she falls a little too in love with her characters—the upperclass can be very doltish and funny, but sometimes it is too over the top to be believable. And she has particularly fallen in love with her sympathetic characters—Max is unbelievably handsome, kind and oblivious to his charms. His wife, the perfect Pagan goddess. Particularly odd is the build-up of hero worship in the relationship between Max and DCI Cotton. Thank god Malliet seems to have pulled back on that in this installment. My final bone of contention is that the anticlimax of the book, the final explanation of motive, the tidying up of exposition can take chapters and chapters! And sometimes some new element of danger appears at this point when you really just want to be done with it all.
So I still recommend this series to lovers of English cozy mysteries, but I think those friends are less tenacious in keeping current with the series than I am.
Alas, while reading the series I noticed it takes me forever to finish a single book. The series doesn’t grab me in an obsessive kind of way. I think Malliet is a solid writer, but I’ve noticed she has problems with the pacing of the books. The intros can drag on too long, or sometimes I’ll notice a paragraph that is very similar to a paragraph I read a few pages ago. I think she falls a little too in love with her characters—the upperclass can be very doltish and funny, but sometimes it is too over the top to be believable. And she has particularly fallen in love with her sympathetic characters—Max is unbelievably handsome, kind and oblivious to his charms. His wife, the perfect Pagan goddess. Particularly odd is the build-up of hero worship in the relationship between Max and DCI Cotton. Thank god Malliet seems to have pulled back on that in this installment. My final bone of contention is that the anticlimax of the book, the final explanation of motive, the tidying up of exposition can take chapters and chapters! And sometimes some new element of danger appears at this point when you really just want to be done with it all.
So I still recommend this series to lovers of English cozy mysteries, but I think those friends are less tenacious in keeping current with the series than I am.
April 17, 2018
Author G.M. Malliet gets everything right in her seventh Max Tudor Mystery IN PRIOR’S WOOD. She incorporates what makes classic mysteries so great - a small English village setting, quirky characters, murder, an atmosphere where not everything is as it seems, and a noble protagonist � and turns it on its side with an MI5 agent turned Anglican priest, who just happens to be married to a Wiccan. Do I have your attention yet?
Max Tudor is approached by his friend DC Cotton to help investigate when a lovers� double suicide does not add up. Then someone goes missing and more…can Max glean the truth out of the secrets and lies?
Told mostly through Max’s interactions with the other characters (suspects) and his thoughts, readers do not get the whole story until all is revealed at the end. Being surprised is nice, but I do not like being kept in the dark. Not that we do not get plenty of clues along the way, I just never knew who to believe and was unable to rule some of the suspects out. However, this tactic requires deft writing, and Malliet is a master plotter. There is, unexpectedly, quite a bit of humor sprinkled throughout the story. Max’s reaction to the church’s newly arrived commissioned stained glass window is humorous yet wry. When Max’s spy training kicks in when the town gossip bursts into his office made me chuckle out loud. My favorite aspect of the story is the characters. They are well dawn and complex. I adore Awena and Max relationship.
IN PRIOR’S WOOD is a solid, smart mystery worthy of a place on any mystery lover’s bookshelf. It can be read as a standalone, but I am confident readers will want all of the books. Highly recommended.
I received an ARC of this title from the author and voluntarily shared my opinions here.
Max Tudor is approached by his friend DC Cotton to help investigate when a lovers� double suicide does not add up. Then someone goes missing and more…can Max glean the truth out of the secrets and lies?
Told mostly through Max’s interactions with the other characters (suspects) and his thoughts, readers do not get the whole story until all is revealed at the end. Being surprised is nice, but I do not like being kept in the dark. Not that we do not get plenty of clues along the way, I just never knew who to believe and was unable to rule some of the suspects out. However, this tactic requires deft writing, and Malliet is a master plotter. There is, unexpectedly, quite a bit of humor sprinkled throughout the story. Max’s reaction to the church’s newly arrived commissioned stained glass window is humorous yet wry. When Max’s spy training kicks in when the town gossip bursts into his office made me chuckle out loud. My favorite aspect of the story is the characters. They are well dawn and complex. I adore Awena and Max relationship.
IN PRIOR’S WOOD is a solid, smart mystery worthy of a place on any mystery lover’s bookshelf. It can be read as a standalone, but I am confident readers will want all of the books. Highly recommended.
I received an ARC of this title from the author and voluntarily shared my opinions here.
December 12, 2024
"Newly returned from investigating a sordid murder in Monkslip-super-Mare, handsome spy-turned-cleric Max Tudor wants nothing more than t9o settle back into his predictable routine as vicar of St. Edwold's Church in the tiny village of Nether Monkslip. But the flow of his sermon on Bathsheba is interrupted when the lady of the local manor house is found in a duicide pact with her young lover.
"Lady Duxter's husband rallies quickly from the double tragedy -- too quickly, it is murmured in the village. But Max reminds his parishioners that grief can take many forms. Lord Duxter has already offered his manor house to a motley crew of writers, including Max's wife, Awena, for his Wooten Priory Writer' Retreat. He insists the show must go on.
"But when a young girl goes missing and a crime writer who needed to be taken down a few notches becomes a target, DCI Cotton asks Max to lend his MI5 expertise to the investigation, for it is felt murder might be a notch too far. Max begins to wonder: Was the attack on the writer only part of a broader conspiracy of silence? And how many more might die before Max can solve the mystery?"
~~front flap
Another craftily plotted mystery, and Max to the rescue yet again. But somehow this on just didn't have the zip of the previous ones, and perhaps that's a sign that this is the last book in the series. As it is.
"Lady Duxter's husband rallies quickly from the double tragedy -- too quickly, it is murmured in the village. But Max reminds his parishioners that grief can take many forms. Lord Duxter has already offered his manor house to a motley crew of writers, including Max's wife, Awena, for his Wooten Priory Writer' Retreat. He insists the show must go on.
"But when a young girl goes missing and a crime writer who needed to be taken down a few notches becomes a target, DCI Cotton asks Max to lend his MI5 expertise to the investigation, for it is felt murder might be a notch too far. Max begins to wonder: Was the attack on the writer only part of a broader conspiracy of silence? And how many more might die before Max can solve the mystery?"
~~front flap
Another craftily plotted mystery, and Max to the rescue yet again. But somehow this on just didn't have the zip of the previous ones, and perhaps that's a sign that this is the last book in the series. As it is.
July 30, 2018
Another good read from G.M. Malliet.
Malliet transports the reader to the tranquil village of Nether Monkslip in the English countryside. And the rich world has the most authentic and some of the most eccentric characters populating it. And murder is afoot. The story's ending is a bit too twee but overall an engaging tale of murder and mystery.
The series is a must for those who love a classic or golden age mystery.
😉
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Book Rating
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Would I read the next oneor reread?: Yes
My rating system (* = star)
0* Could not finish this book (waste of time)
1* Finished the book but didn't like it.
2* Finished the book it was okay.
3* A good read worth your time.
4* An excellent read often with a novel concept or unusual plot.
5* A great read. A prominent example of the genre
Malliet transports the reader to the tranquil village of Nether Monkslip in the English countryside. And the rich world has the most authentic and some of the most eccentric characters populating it. And murder is afoot. The story's ending is a bit too twee but overall an engaging tale of murder and mystery.
The series is a must for those who love a classic or golden age mystery.
😉
Connect with me on and
See all my reviews
Follow my blog on
Book Rating
Sexual Content: u
Language: u
Violent: u
Would I read the next one
My rating system (* = star)
0* Could not finish this book (waste of time)
1* Finished the book but didn't like it.
2* Finished the book it was okay.
3* A good read worth your time.
4* An excellent read often with a novel concept or unusual plot.
5* A great read. A prominent example of the genre
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