Bringing the church into disrepute is the charge made against William the vicar of this quiet Welsh village. Not the child abuse claims so prevalent today but one of immoral behaviour on several counts with several women. A serial womaniser as it were. The behaviour had been going on for years and it was mainly due to his charismatic personality that William had got away with this.
On taking over the duties of the parish, William felt that he was all powerful and that he could walk over everyone in this place. He turned the first meeting of the wardens upside down and made an enemy for life. Peter Knight was not going to get over the insult of not being elected uncontested as Church Warden and he was not going to let it go easily either. He was the guiding force behind the downfall of William but William helped himself immensely with his devil may care attitude towards all.
When the case comes up, journalists flock to this village to get the scurrilous details of the affair - the who and what, when and where. One journalist however wants to seek out the truth and he is also keen to see that justice is meted out if the good vicar is guilty. Most of the people around think that William will get away with it due to lack of hard evidence but like a who dun it, the story ends in a climax totally unexpected!
This was a good story, building up an unlikeable character with strong and weak characters surrounding him. A community totally split into two and even after the verdict split in two groups forever.
The book was sent to me from Netgalley via Troubador Publishing.
This sounds like it could have been snatched from the headlines!
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