"Kate Charles' study of the tensions within the church and within society continues in Evil Intent as she explores the issue of spiritual and moral authority: who holds it, who opposes it and what underlies the strong feelings about leadership by women and gay clergy. She symbolises this, as ever, by means of a murder story. So who, amongst these liberal and conservative holy people, is really dangerous? And is that relevant, as well as being a good read? Yes, I think it is. Religion is significant in political agendas and has its own form of politics that can be just as dirty. Kate Charles heightens the contrasts to show something real, and is clever enough to keep us questioning our own sympathies and assumptions. I am not a fan of crime fiction and not a church-goer but was recommended to read Evil Intent and was immediately struck by the roundness and plausibility of the characters and by the handling of the ecclesiatical themes. Without ever feeling I was being manipulated by the author, I nevertheless found myself turning pages, eager to know how things would turn out for each of her human creations and I became intrigued with the unfamiliar (to me) accounts of conflicting factions within the Church of England. The ecclesiastical scenario might easily have suggested stereotypical characters and events: Kate Charles succeeds in going beyond the stereotypes and in creating a convincing, living chunk of current Anglican life. And, yes, I was caught out at several turns when I thought I'd guessed who had done it. This is my first Kate Charles and I am looking forward to reading more." - By an anonymous reader.
I don't think anyone could have put that any better, thanks to the anonymous reader from Amazon (UK). Evil Intent is the first in the Callie Anson series published in 2005. It is my first Kate Charles too and I would recommend this better-than-average ecclesiastical cosy mystery to anyone who is interested in clerical politics or even to those of no religious bent whatsoever because it sure isn't all rosy in the church arena! To find out more about Kate Charles - the pen name used by Carol Fosher Chase - and her other books, click here or her official website.
Rating: 4/5
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