Reverend Francis Oughterard is a quiet man who simply wants a quiet life. That's hard to achieve with an obnoxious neighbor, a jealous banker, a drunken bishop and an accidental murder. Now, it's up to Bouncer the dog and Maurice the cat to keep the Reverend out of prison and their comfortable, new home intact.

Both animals have lost their owners, both need a new home. Maurice decides that the vicar will be an acceptable substitute for them both. Because they do not want to be dislocated again, they bond together to protect him.

This is not a heavy duty mystery but it is a short, fun book and very well done. I was afraid that a story where two of the protagonists, and points-of-view were a dog and cat, would be just sweet and cute...but not so. It is cleaver and funny and a thoroughly good read. ( )

I downloaded this book to my Kindle on the strength of the synopsis and recommendations from friends, and then I promptly forgot about it. I've been making a point to go back to read the earliest books I downloaded. I'm not much of a cat person, so when A Load of Old Bones started out with "The Cat's Memoir" in Maurice's voice, I didn't know how far I would be able to read. That uncertainty held until chapter three, "The Dog's Diary." When I read the very first thing Bouncer the dog said, I burst into laughter.

This book reminds me of the old "Columbo" television series when you knew the identity of the killer and all you had to do was sit back and watch the detective put all the clues together to catch him. What made me a bit uneasy is how quickly I accepted Oughterard killing a woman and covering it up. It undoubtedly has a lot to do with the fact that the dreaded Mrs. F. is the type of person who makes most of those who meet her want to strangle her.

As a fan of Spencer Quinn's Chet and Bernie mysteries, I have no problem with dogs (and the occasional cat) speaking to me, but what surprised me was how harmoniously the voices of Oughterard, Bouncer and Maurice blended together. Between the three of them, a reader gets the complete picture, and watching these two animals come to the aid of the vicar is laugh-out-loud funny.

There is very little interplay between the characters in A Load of Old Bones. You're going to spend most of your time in the heads of a vicar, a dog, and a cat. I had a delightful time there; however, I don't think I want to repeat the experience. There are other books in this series, which came as no surprise because there was a strong foreshadowing of blackmail at the end, but I don't think I'd find another visit to Molehill to be nearly as much fun. I'd rather stop with this book and keep the good memories and the smile on my face. ( )

My goodness! I haven't laughed so hard at a book since Hector was a pup!
It's difficult to tell much about this book without spoilers, so suffice it to say that it's more of a "novel of suspense" than a "detective story" and is told in the first person from three points of view -- a cat, a dog, and a vicar are the three main characters. The setting in 1957 helps to make it a wonderful escape. I suppose this book mightn't be everyone's cup of tea but it certainly was mine. ( )

Gentle, amusing and diverting (though not, as the blurb-excitement reads, remotely close to being ‘Three Men in a Boat’), A Load of Old Bones is more a quiet parody of the fluffy rural crime genre of a particular period. Narrated, in turns, by the cat belonging to the victim, the dog belonging to the victim’s would-be male companion, and the local vicar, I found it difficult to reconcile the cuteness with the murder until I realised (somewhat belatedly) that the author was treating that as cute (cute with edge, perhaps) too. Once you’ve tucked away any residual hardened crime-reader habits, though, A Load of Old Bones is readable; not over-burdened with strong characters beyond the vicar – who I admit I enjoyed rather a lot, and consider a decent candidate for character serialisation – but sporting a well-paced narrative and plenty of colourful detailing. ( )

The Reverend Francis Oughterard's life is peaceful and largely uneventful,that is until he becomes the amatory target for one of his female parishioners. She becomes such a pest,that meeting her one day in the woods,he snaps and kills her. In the course of the story he acquires her cat (Maurice) and a dog (Bouncer). These two become (sort of) friends and it is with the help of these two unique characters that the vague and unworldly cleric avoids capture.
The reader is also introduced to a drunken bishop,a crooked figure from his past and several of Bouncer's doggy friends.
The events are told in alternative chapters by the vicar,the cat and the dog, with great panache (at least by the animals).
This is the first of a quietly humorous series which I found most amusing. ( )