by Alice K. Boatwright“Under an English Heaven” is for those who like a cozy English mystery without a lot of violence or blood.
Ellie is a transplanted American now living in an the English countryside. She married a widowed, small-village vicar and has been trying to find a sense of belonging in a new place. Her husband has a grown daughter and is busy with church activities. Ellie is trying to fit in and joins church committees to demonstrate her new loyalty to village life. She discovers a dead body one evening near the church and becomes suspect number one. The police cannot identify the body- it seems noone recognizes him. Ellie’s foreignness works against her and the villagers start to suspect her as well.
The book was slow-moving and meandering. The death of a second person does little to add to the momentum. While I enjoyed the setting, it dragged too much for my liking.