We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome the Reverend Richard Coles to the barn. The first in his Canon Clement series, Murder Before Evensong, is being adapted for the stage by the Watermill Theatre in Newbury this Autumn and so he is in the area!

As the festive season descends upon Champton, one chorister’s Christmas might be his last in this delightfully devious instalment in the Reverend Richard Coles’ bestselling cosy crime series.

 Christmas in Champton, and Daniel and Neil Vanloo are reluctantly conscripted into the Cathedral’s choir. The town is buzzing with preparations, festive merriment prevails, and the concert goes without a hitch.
That is, until a warbling soloist steps forward: and falls to his death before he can finish the note. And Daniel suspects it wasn’t a fall, but a push . . .

Can Daniel, Neil – and Daniel’s delighted mother, Audrey – solve the mystery and catch the Christmas killer?

‘An absolute joy from cover to cover. Praise be!’ Adam Kay

‘Beautifully written, charming, funny, intelligent and mordant too’ Sunday Times

‘Like a walk in the country on a warm summer’s evening’ Janice Hallett

‘A brilliant crime romp’ Woman’s Weekly

THE REVEREND RICHARD COLES is a writer, broadcaster and an Anglican priest. He co-presented Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4 for a number of years and appears, from time to time, on QI, Have I Got News For You and Would I Lie To You? He has won Christmas MasterChef, Celebrity Mastermind twice, and captained Leeds to victory in Christmas University Challenge in 2019. A contestant on Strictly Come Dancing (2017) and a third place finalist on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! (2024) he exhibits huge bravery.

He writes regularly for the Sunday Times, and is the author of half a dozen books, including a bestselling autobiography, Fathomless Riches, and the bereavement bestseller The Madness of Grief, written after the death of his partner, David Coles.

The first three books in the Canon Clement series have all been No.1 Sunday Times bestsellers. The first in the series, Murder Before Evensong, was adapted for Channel 5 in October 2025.