New Releases by Rhys Bowen

Welsh Constable Evan Evans plumbs the past and present to search for connections between two troubling crimes in the eighth novel in this “consistently satisfying mystery series.”* Evans has found the most delightful shepherd’s cottage. At the moment it’s just four stone walls with gaping holes for doors and windows...but what a view! But as Evans attempts to seal the deal, duty calls. A five-year-old has vanished from a seaside caravan park—and Detective Constable Evans must consider all the suspects. There’s the child’s estranged father, who may want to spirit her back to his native Russia—and the German tourists in a hurry to flee the scene. Evans wonders if the abduction is related to the disappearance of another girl, twenty-five years ago—especially since that girl’s relatives have just returned to Wales for a family reunion. Now, as he and his fiancée try to rebuild their dream house, he must also build a difficult case against a possible double murderer...

In this Agatha winner''s latest gem, Evan faces a past case that haunts him still--his father''s murder.

The sixth book in the charming and critically acclaimed series set in a tiny Welsh village, Rhys Bowen''s Evans to Betsy. The charming village of Llanfair, the setting for Rhys Bowen''s beloved Constable Evans mysteries, sits amid lush, rolling Welsh meadows populated with quaint cottages and is considered by many of its colorful locals to be a kind of paradise. Unfortunately, there aren''t many opportunities for young people in Llanfair, so when an exciting and glamorous American woman breezes into town talking of dormant psychic powers and important social research, barmaid Betsy Edwards is quick to take her up on an offer of employment at the recently opened Sacred Grove New Age center not far away. Of course the locals, including the village constable, Evan Evans, think Betsy has gone around the bend, not to mention the nutty American who dragged her off to be "tested." Betsy, though, is dazzled at the possibility of exploring her own sixth sense. And she''s only a little surprised when her new powers are put to a real-life test; when the center''s flamboyant director goes missing, clues to his fate mysteriously appear in Betsy''s dreams. It''s a tantalizing mystery for lonely Betsy, who can''t help doing a little investigating on her own. But Constable Evans has been involved with Sacred Grove before-looking for a missing American college student who was lured there by Druid worship. As Betsy does her own sleuthing on the spot, Evan comes to realize that there is nothing straightforward about this case and that Betsy has no idea at all of the terrible danger she is in.

With Evan Can Wait, the fifth addition to her critically acclaimed series, Rhys Bowen creates a colorful, page-turning mystery set in two eras against the backdrop of a uniquely appealing small town filled with unforgettable characters. Constable Evan Evans, sole police officer in the charming Welsh village of Llanfair, is assigned to assist an expedition to raise a World War II German bomber plane from a lake. The whole venture is being filmed for a documentary on World War II and Evans tries to assist the film crew by finding them local people with stories to tell. Little does he realize that resurrecting the past can sometimes mean opening old wounds. After some unhappy confrontations, it is not just the villagers who are upset by the filmmakers. Evans'' own life is thrown into turmoil as he discovers his girlfriend Bronwen''s past relationship with someone from the film crew. Tensions build until one of the filmmakers disappears and is eventually found dead in a nearby slate mine. The case grows more complex as Evans slowly uncovers evidence that the victim had many enemies. In the process Evans also exposes an elaborate World War II scheme to hide paintings from the National Gallery. Do these paintings have something to do with the filmmaker''s disappearance? How could he be connected to events that took place over half a century ago?

With her third book in this acclaimed series, Rhys Bowen offers another page-turning tale of small-town mayhem and murder, in Evanly Choirs When Constable Evan Evans is persuaded to join the local male choir for the upcoming eisteddfod (cultural festival), he doesn''t think the addition of his mediocre voice will do them much good. In spite of all the effort that choirmaster Mostyn Phillips puts in to the choir, it is not exactly first class. Hope arrives in the form of world renowned tenor Ifor Llewelyn, come home to Llanfair to rest, on doctor''s orders. Llewelyn immediately sets about renewing old friendships, and Mostyn even persuades him to sing with the choir. But Ifor isn''t in Llanfair long before the residents decide that his presence is a mixed blessing. Noisy fights between Ifor and his wife, a threatening stranger, and Ifor''s own warped sense of humor make life in Llanfair increasingly tense. When he announces that he is planning to write his memoirs, telling all about his numerous relationships with famous and infamous women, he jokes that some people won''t be happy. But is someone unhappy enough to commit murder to stop him? While tracking down a dangerous killer, Constable Evans also manages to navigate the treacherous waters of neighborhood rivalries, lusty barmaids, and local gossip.

THE FIRST CONSTABLE EVANS MYSTERY! Constable Evan Evans expected the idyllic Welsh village of Llanfair to be a calm oasis far away from the violent crime of the big city—until a string of murders puts every charming eccentric under suspicion... Little Llanfair has its share of characters—two ministers vying for the souls of their flock, one lascivious barmaid, and three other Evanses: Evans-the-Meat, Evans-the-Milk, and Evans-the-Post. But before Evan—now knows as Evans-the-Law—can enjoy Llanfair''s tranquillity, he''s called to the scene of a crime as brutal as any in the big city. Two hikers have been murdered on the trails of the local mountain, and now Evan must hunt down a vicious killer in a town where one of his lovable new neighbors could prove to be deadly...