About the Series
Born in the Bedfordshire Countryside, Alison Golden's novels are driven by her love of mystery. In them, however, she never fails to reveal her humorous side. And it is to this that her reader's adoration is owed.
In their bucolic settings, her stories are soothing, and laced with light twists. Gently paced, and stirred by a playful drama, Golden brings a charmingly brooding atmosphere to her twee settings. Despite a typical British eloquence, she maintains precision and delivers crisp prose.
The Chronicles of Annabelle
Annabelle is the typical modern protagonist: Fundamentally kind-hearted, emotionally unstable, and with an imagination occasionally broaching insanity. Still, she maintains the admiration and respect of her peers, and that of her readers. The Chronicles are dictated by her wild, obsessive love that continually drives her to distress.
Reverend Annabelle Dixon, beloved by parishioners, goes about her duties in Upton St. Mary alongside her cat, Biscuit – the story's nonchalant side-kick. The village reaps the benefits of her sound advice, often delivered from the window of her Mini Cooper.
A loving Vicar, her kindness is reserved solely for her parish. Her love occasionally extends itself beyond her jurisdiction, however, and lands her in the throng of hitherto unknown romance.
Set in the English countryside, the Reverend Annabelle Dixon series introduces you to yet another facet of the picturesque and peaceful town, an amoral secret brought about by the vices that prowl about its nooks and crannies.
The chronicles of Annabelle are Golden's private introduction to a picturesque and peaceful town. Through her conflicted hero Annabelle, she exquisitely exposes the vices that prowl about the nooks and crannies of the English countryside.
Annabelle enjoys exhuming mysteries with her erstwhile crush, the dapper Inspector Mike Nicholls. Together, they spark joy and drama as they go about their small town duties. An emblem of delightfully confused humanity in the idyllic but stultifying town, Annabelle presents a compelling case for the reader's love.
Golden is sure to enunciate her typical Englishness, frequently portrayed by an insatiable penchant for tea and cakes. This and other typically British customs are sure to inspire the inner-Anglophile as the series unfolds.
As you accompany her in her pursuits, you'll be thrilled and involved to the point of identification with her, hoping in the end that she will emerge victorious. But this is not to say that things come easy for her as she regularly finds herself in the midst of controversies, investigations, and dead-ends. However her feisty English pluck invariably emerges as she braves every challenge.
It is indeed no coincidence that the author, a woman who knew strife at every turn, has selected such a resilient spirit through which to narrate her story. It is the grist and grit of the protagonist, fuelled by the kindred spirit of the writer that makes the series so captivating. Refusing to be overcome by obstacles from both within and without, the final morale of the tale may well be that sometimes the struggle is the solution.
The prequel to the series, Death at the Cafe, finds Reverend Annabelle Dixon during her assignment at St. Clément's Church. There, her mentor, initially baffled and intrigued by her enthusiastic grit, eventually warms to the vicar.
The story begins as Annabelle planned to meet her friend, Sister Mary, a Catholic nun visiting from West Africa, only to find her dead in their arranged cafe. Determined to find the perpetrator of the murder, and with the looming threat of her potentially incriminating discovery, she hastily gathers clues to the benefit of her defense.
In the "Body in the Woods" Annabelle reopens a cold case opened at the discovery of a bone – a human forearm – by a young boy. Left unsolved, according to forensics, for over a decade, she is determined to find out to whom the bone belongs. Digging deep, this murder mystery is layered thick with twists and deception.
In Murder at the Mansion, Annabelle's recent assignment in St. Upton suddenly becomes overlooked as she welcomes a new parishioner. The mysterious new figure casually dispels rumors of shady doings in the manor, and Annabelle runs smack into a murder.
Despite writing Death Before the Cafe a few years before "Body in the Woods" and "Murder at the Mansions", Golden's novels of the series are complete in and of themselves and may be read independently of one another.
Reverend Annabelle Dixon is a modern day Sherlock. With her perilous knack for finding clues in the most unexpected places, you will enjoy following her trails as she moves about nosing around for some good old clues. She is as endearing as she is strong and readers will gleefully anticipate the story's denouement.
Lovers of the hit series The Vicar of Dibley will surely enjoy the cozy Annabelle series, given their shared countryside setting and that it also tells a story of a warm-hearted Vicar in a small English town. Indeed, her rather easy-going personality regularly plays to her strengths, given that her casual charm always has a way of finding favor with those that she encounters.
However, the Annabelle series provides more excitement and mystery at every turn of the page as the Reverend uncovers clue after clue leading to the discovery of the mysteries behind the killings.
Annabelle handles the truth with the authority of a vicar and the candor of a sinner, which makes for hilarious reading. Added to this are the antics provided by her rumormongering aide, Philippe. Through their pursuits, Golden portrays her quintessential wit with a lively comic duo.
Annabelle artistically evades the twists and turns in her pursuits and she enjoys a forbidden romance with her partner-cum-antagonist Inspector Nicholls. Their dynamic supplies a healthy dose of sordid violence as they passionately outlet the strain of the perilous trail of mystery onto each other.
Curl-up in the pages of her novel, as you travel through the English countryside with Annabelle, searching for clues, walking the dark hallways and enjoying the odd cake (you'll find that she details these in her novel!). These tales are a celebration of all things English, with a murder mystery to boot; droll humor, masterful suspense and an array of charming characters that you're sure to fall in love with as you accompany Annabelle in her pursuits.
Aside from her Annabelle series, Golden also has a Jersey-based detective series featuring David Graham, and the Diana Hunter Series, set in Vancouver. She is living proof to the adage, "once an author, always an author".
Conclusion
Alison Golden can be found in the San Francisco Bay Area where she lives with her husband and twin sons. After having awed us with her books, this legendary author has decided to live her life away from the spotlight. She now spends her time traveling between London and San Francisco, mostly on family-related errands.