Late of This Parish

The Reverend Cecil Willard was not one of those born to be loved. A scholarly and austere man, former headmaster of the local boys' school, his stern moral principles and die-hard opinions never endeared him either to those close to him or to his neighbours in the village of Castle Wyvering where he lived and worked. Nevertheless, the discovery of his murdered body at the foot of the altar steps in the church shocked the whole community.

Situated at the outskirts of the Lavenstock Division, tiny Castle Wyvering and its inhabitants are unfamiliar to DCI Gil Mayo and his support team. However, Mayo soon learns that there are plenty of people in Castle Wyvering who had cause to resent the old man, including his on long-suffering daughter—but who would want to kill him, and why? Does his death have anything to do with the power struggle for the headmaster's position at the school, or with the shooting of three badgers in a neighbour's garden? And who is the mysterious Sara...