Constable Evans Books In Order

Publication Order of Constable Evans Books

Rhys Bowen writes mystery books that have been nominated for every big time mystery award out there and has won thirteen of them so far. She currently is writing two historical mystery series that differ greatly in tone. Her Molly Murphy series feature a protagonist who is an Irish immigrant woman in New York City at the turn of the century. Her books are complex stories that are deeply rooted in the times and places they occur in. Her other historical series features the Lady George, 35th in line to England’s throne, who is also absolutely broke and trying to survive in the times of the Great Depression.

Rhys Bowen was originally born in Bath, England and comes from an upper class family in the British class system. She has been nominated for career achievement and draws from her childhood experiences and life as well as inspiration to write her stories. Rhys has relatives in Wales and these experiences have inspired her to write the mystery series Constable Evans. Set in the mountains of Snowdonia, she has written ten books. Evan’s Gate has been nominated for an Edgar Award. Rhys has lived in Australia, Gerany and Austria but now calls California home. She sometimes escapes to her condo in Arizona during the Californian winter and enjoys traveling, singing, painting and hiking.

About Constable Evan Evans

Constable Evan Evans is a young constable who lives at the foot of a mountain in a Welsh village. He is self-effacing and unattached, but still has to turn down the advances of a buxom barmaid awkwardly at the local pub as well as a shy school teacher who are constantly battling over the constable’s affections. His name is distinctly Welsh and the Constable is constantly having to deal with eccentric superiors, his female admirers, a landlady prone to feeding him Welsh food, and the wife of the local minister who is constantly summoning him for a variety of small issues such as stolen tomatoes. Constable Evan Evans finds himself in the middle of mysterious murders and tries to find the underlying connection and solve the crime.

Constable Evans: Evans Above

In Rhys’s first book of the series, Constable Evan Evans had expectations for the town of Llanfair to be an idyllic, calm place that was miles apart from the busy nature, violence, and crime of the big city. After all, it’s a small Welsh village at the foot of Mount Snowdon, with citizens that have known each other for generations and slate blue cottages. It seems like the last place where anything could happen. That is, until murders start to plague the town. Now every citizen and charming eccentric is under suspicion. Three alpine hikers have been disposed of, and it’s up to Evans to figure out who has done it. As if that weren’t enough, he has to self-consciously fend off the advances of everyone from the barmaid at the local pub to the school teacher, as well as being at the beck and call of the minister’s wife for a number of small offenses. The characters in this book are interesting, the plot well crafted, and the feeling of being in Wales comes across to the reader quite well.

Evans is no big fan of the new vacation lodge set up in town, but now Evan Evans is called away from the weekly sermon at the church because two different men have fallen on the same day to their deaths in separate incidents on the mountain. They appear to be accidents… but are they? Evans is used to lost and even injured mountaineers, but two incidents on the same day would seem suspicious to anyone. Evans is deeply suspicious and opens an investigation. His superiors initially do not believe that Constable Evans’ hunches about the two murders being connected despite their happening at two different locations on Mount Snowdon. Evans is at last able to persuade the dubious police detectives that this may have been murder and that the cases are connected.

This book is a complex mystery plot that starts off with the deaths of two men but quickly develops into a sinister and mysterious plot of disappearances, robbery, child crimes, and more. Constable Evans is constantly trying to find the connection and links between what he is faced with. This becomes his driving theme, even as the confusion increases and the connection he is trying to find seems impossible to pin down. Set in picturesque country Wales, Bowen does service to the local customs and the spirit of the Welsh people.

Constable Evans: Evan Help Us

The Welsh residents of the quiet town of Llanfair have grown accustomed to the regular atmosphere of peace and quiet, and so has Constable Evans. Constable Evan Evans returns in this second installment of the Constable Evans series and is serving his second year as the constable for the town. The barmaid still flirts with him, his landlady still pushes delicacies on him, and he has developed a relationship with the blue eyed, golden haired schoolteacher. Set in North Wales, Llanfair has suddenly once more become the hot spot for quite a bit of activity. A single mother and her daughter have moved into the village. Colonel Arbuthnot visits the town yearly from London and has discovered a ruin in the hills nearby that he claims are the relics of Camelot. The discovery is heralded but also has re sparked a feud between Llanfair natives and the neighboring hamlet Beddgelert. Native Ted Morgan has also returned to his hometown with big plans to make an old abandoned mine into a bustling theme park.

But then the well liked Colonel dies after his discovery, hackles and eyebrows are raised and the quiet peace of the town is thrown into turmoil. Then when Ted Morgan is discovered dead by gunshot, Constable Evans is once more convinced that there must be a connection between the two incidents. He enlists the help of Sergeant Watkins and the Constable is trying to find the connection between the former hometown Morgan, the elderly colonel, and the beautiful woman who has moved to town. The only clear link between them all seems to be in London. Constable Evans returns to the big city in order to try and solve the case.

While Evans tries to find the killer, he finds himself the object of desire for the beautiful new woman who has moved to town, a kindling that threatens to ruin his relationship with the blue eyes teacher. Evans searches the streets of London to find the killer, but will he find the man or woman responsible for the crimes? A misfit in the metropolis once again, Evans must use his wits and keep his eyes open to find the killer.

One Response to “Constable Evans”

1. Gloria Hill: 3 years ago

   I’m a huge Rhys Bowen fan and have read all of the Molly Malone mysteries, Princess Spyness mysteries, all of the novels and recently started reading the Constable Evans series which are very interesting because I knew very little about Wales and the Welsh language. My Dad’s family was from Wales and his middle name was Evans. Thanks for your reviews!

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