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(More customer reviews)Suzette A. Hill's Bone Idle is the third in the series featuring the cat Maurice, Bouncer the dog, and the Reverend Francis Oughterad, all of whom were introduced in A Load of Old Bones. If you have not read A Load of Old Bones and second in the series, Bones in the Belfry, please do so before reading Bone Idle. While not absolutely essential, you will enjoy the books more if you read in sequence. The events in the first and second books definitely establish the problems for the plot in Bone Idle. As before, the Reverend Francis, now appointed Canon through vast convolutions of Church politics, stumbles from one disaster to another, seemingly doomed to be found out, not only as murderer in A Load of Old Bones but as unwilling accomplice to art theft/fraud in Bones in the Belfry. When the daughter of Elizabeth Fotherington, the original murder victim, is also killed (though not by him), his exposure appears inevitable. As before, Maurice and Bouncer are more aware and more proactive than F.O. in dealing with the situation.
Ms. Hill continues to switch narrative voices between F.O., Maurice, and Bouncer. Without reading chapter headings, it is clear which of the three is the narrator because each is distinct. One strength is her ability to move the plot along without needless repetition or long segments of exposition while shifting between the narrators. The plot develops in the "anything that can go wrong, will" tradition, with F.O. repeatedly falling out of the frying pan into the fire, just when he thinks he might be safe. Much of the suspense comes from how the animals will cope this time. The humor is dry. The ending for Bone Idle leaves it clear that the adventures will continue. Long may they flourish.
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Praise for Suzette A. Hill: "This dry, funny British gem, with its eccentric cast of characters, will leave readers laughing and eagerly awaiting the next episode."—Publishers WeeklyReverend Oughterard has managed to elude arrest (for now), but when another murder occurs, Oughterard panics. Embarrassing complications ensue, and, once again, world-weary cat Maurice and intrepid mongrel Bouncer must help the reverend escape trouble. Suzette A. Hill is a graduate of the universities of Nottingham and Newcastle/Tyne. She taught English literature for many years at Reading College before retiring to Herefordshire. She is the author of three mysteries featuring Francis Oughterard.
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