The Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK is four books in the Francis Oughterard series by Suzette A Hill for £0.99 each (>75% off) -- for some odd reason, they've chosen books 2-5 for the official Deal, but the first in the series is on sale at the same price, so be sure to pick up all five; for those in the US, the first in the series is on sale here, too!.A Load of Old Bones (Main/UK/US edition $1.46)
All the Reverend Francis Oughterard had ever wanted was some peace and quiet, instead he becomes entangled in a nightmare world of accidental murder, predatory female parishioners, officious policemen and a drunken bishop. As the vicar's life spirals out of control it is his supercilious cat, Maurice, and bone obsessed hound, Bouncer, who save the day.Bones in the Belfry (Main/UK/US edition $9.99)
A Load of Old Bones is a charming and farcical romp through a 1950's mythical Surrey.
Having extricated himself from the embarrassment of murdering his lady parishioner, the Rev. Oughterard is now plunged into the traumas of art theft.Bone Idle (Main/UK/US edition $9.99)
Forced by the shady Nicholas Ingaza into being a fence for stolen paintings, he endures the investigative probings of terrifying female novelist and amateur sleuth, Maud Tubbly Pole, hell-bent on portraying him in her next novel.
Haunted by the recent murder and fearful of exposure in his new role of ‘receiver’, the Reverend blunders haplessly in a mesh of intrigue and risible deceit. As before, his antics are commented upon by his cat, the acidic Maurice, and redoubtable bone-grinding ally, the dog Bouncer.
So far eluding arrest (but with fears of imminent exposure), he is in the grip of his blackmailing pal, the shady Nicholas Ingaza who forces him to steal a valuable figurine of a prancing pig from collector Claude Blenkinsop.Bones in High Places (Main/UK/US edition $15.00)
Naturally the project backfires and the hapless vicar is plunged into further skulduggery, during which someone is murdered. The Reverend's despairing efforts to distance himself from the crime and additional police interest lead to embarrassing complications both for himself and his bishop, the pompous Horace Clinker.
Things come to a head when Oughterards own life is put at risk by a crazed and menacing character called Victor Crumpemeyere. Once again it is up to his world-weary cat, Maurice and intrepid mongrel, Bouncer, to save the Reverend's bacon.
Foreign parts and fresh imbroglios! This time the Rev Francis Oughterard, persuaded by blackmailing Nicholas Ingaza, journeys to the French Auvergne engaged on yet another project of dubious kind and painful embarrassment. Pursued by murderous thugs and ensnared in the posturings of a cranky religious sect, Francis and his new companions – plus stowaways Maurice and Bouncer – blunder their way through a network of absurd and perilous escapades which temporarily, at any rate, distract the vicar from his own dark secret…A Bedlam of Bones (Main/UK/US edition $11.99)
After the unsettling exploits in the Auvergne the vicar and his companions try to resume a life of moderate respectability. But the recent events cast a long shadow and they are soon in the grip of sinister repercussions. Who is the menacing blackmailer stalking the previous blackmailer and the bishop? Can the bishop survive the threat of being ‘outed’? Why is there a body in the polyanthus bed and can Lavinia Birtle-Figgins really be as dippy as she seems?
These and other imponderables immerse the Reverend Francis Oughterard in a fresh web of danger and subterfuge while his animal ‘minders’, Maurice and Bouncer, try their best to make sense of all this human bedlam.
