Name: Till Death Us Do Part
Author: Reverend Penny Stephens

Till Death Us Do Part begins a new cosy mystery series by Reverend Penny Stephens starring an inquisitive vicar and her young family. Read my full review.

Till Death Us Do Part by Reverend Penny Stephens Book Review 2 Till Death Us Do Part by Rev Penny Stephens: A charming cosy

Publication: Quercus Books, July 2025.

Genre: Mystery, Drama, Crime-Detective

Till Death Us Do Part Publisher Synopsis

The charming and delightfully cosy debut crime novel from Reverend Penny Stephens.

Weddings can be murder . . .

Reverend Clare Brakespear is used to a challenge. With a young family to wrangle, a parish to manage and a particularly excitable Golden Retriever by her side, life is never dull.

But when she attends a wedding where one of the guests is fatally stabbed with a cake knife, even Clare admits that she might have been given too much to handle this time.

As the police investigate the murder, they zero-in on one woman as their prime suspect, who they believe had the motive, means and opportunity to commit the crime. The trouble is, Clare is convinced that they have the wrong person. She might not understand forensic testing and finger-tip searches, but if there’s one thing Clare does know, it’s people and the complexities of their emotional lives. So she decides to take matters into her own hands.

However, investigating a murder is no mean feat and Clare soon finds herself embroiled in a complex web of family secrets and deceptions. Is she in way over her head or can she find the real killer before an innocent woman is sent down?

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My Review

It’s hard not to enjoy a bit of amateur sleuthing, right? And in times of crisis, who is better positioned to uncover the secrets behind the tears of the grief stricken than the much trusted and respected vicar with her affectionate dog Mia in tow — while she is, of course, first and foremost delivering pastoral care and support. She’s an avid crime fiction reader, and modern wife and mum, so Clare Brakespear is good at multi-tasking. And, who better to write about such a character than a reverend.

In Till Death Us Do Part Penny Stephens has combined the old-world feel of a patient and methodical Agatha Christie investigation with this relatively modern premise.

Clare’s, at times, sarcasm-laden inner thoughts and moments of self-doubt and critique, that run parallel to her external display of earnest and resolute goodness, endear her to readers. As do her protective instincts and admiration for her children Anna and Tom and her husband David. Well-timed and perceptive observations and suppositions from junior sleuths Anna and Tom help dial up this narrative’s charm factor too.

Inspite of this undeniable charm and Till Death Us Do Part‘s engagingly complex web of characters and motives, Stephen’s narrative just felt slow and meandering in places. I saw opportunities to neatly conclude this novel a few chapters before its end; the author’s desire to methodically tie up all loose threads felt akin to letting too much air out of its tyres.

Penny Stephens’ Till Death Us Do Part is a very cosy modern mystery and relaxing read that delivers a strong and endearing series character set in vicar Clare and family.