This was my first Jill Churchill book, chosen more or less at random from the library. It is the sixth in a series called the Grace and Favor Mysteries, featuring Robert and Lily Brewster. Robert and Lily are siblings, whose great-uncle left them a sizable fortune, with a few conditions. They stand to inherit everything after ten years, but in the meantime they must not leave their upstate New York town for more than two months at a time; they must live in the mansion known as Grace and Favor under the watchful eye of the executor, Mr. Prinney, and they must earn a living for themselves. All of this is made that much more difficult by the fact that these stories are set during the Great Depression. I would recommend the Grace and Favor Mysteries without reservation for kids between the ages of seven and thirteen. They remind me of the Nancy Drew books I read during my elementary school years. The vocabulary is excellent and the author does not talk down to the reader. Most kids enjoy mysteries and Ms. Churchill does a good job of providing historical background. I was not aware, for instance, that Hitler prevented foreign-born Germans from leaving the country after a certain point in the 1930s. This particular story begins after the local post office has been closed for lack of funding. The townspeople are forced to extract their mail from bags dropped from the train. Robert Brewster sees an opportunity to improve upon this situation by constructing a post office of sorts at the train depot. Before this can happen, however, the new tailor, who has just escaped from Germany, is targeted by a vandal who paints a swastika on the side of his building and later attempts to set two fires. The semi-employed train porter is found brutally murdered at about the same time. The Chief of Police, his new deputy, and Robert Brewster join forces to investigate these mysterious crimes, which may or may not be related.In recommending these books for younger kids, I do need to caution that there are some descriptions of injuries that might bother especially sensitive readers. But outside of this, the tone is quite suitable to youngsters. There are no "anti-heroes" here. The good guys are mild, gentle and kind. The bad guys are unwashed and "nasty." The pacing and tone of Who's Sorry Now? are not what I've become accustomed to, after several years of reading Stephen King and Richard Price. The writing is not sophisticated, edgy or world-weary, and adult readers may become impatient with the quaint and stilted dialogue. But it offers a glimpse of a bygone era and is an offbeat alternative to Harry Potter and Twilight.Lyddie
This was my first foray into the work of Jill Churchill, and likely will be my last.Who's Sorry Now? is less a murder mystery than an attempt at a slice of life during the Great Depression. The main focus of this book is not either of the bodies that are discovered during the course of the novel, but whether or not the townsfolk in Brewster, New York can devise a means of distributing their mail after it arrives via train. No, really...think of those old movies where all the folks decide to put on a musical to save someone or something. That is the center of this book. "C'mon gang, we can do it!"That alone isn't a deal breaker, but Churchill's writing style is. The sentence structure is just...odd, as it gives the overall effect of a storybook for very young children. That adds to the annoyance factor of focusing on plots that do not even marginally fall under the heading of 'mystery'.If you are only a borderline lover of so-called 'cozy mysteries', steer clear. If you like cozies so much that you knit cozies for your cozy mysteries, this is for you!
What do You think about Who's Sorry Now? (2006)?
I liked the coziness of this book, but was a little to on sweetie side for me. I would have given it a 3 to maybe a 4 but the last 3 or so chapters just annoyed me so I was skipping thorough them and then it ended. No real hero or protagonist. Was thrown around to all the characters and the end the guy- who was suddenly made the hero was overboard on how author made the drama go. I am going to try another by this author in a different series and see how they are. I would read another of these if I had nothing else. Other than that I do not know if I would do another. I did like the homey feel of book as mentioned.
—Karen
I've heard that Jill Churchill is a really good writer, so I picked up this book, but I was disappointed. I can't even figure out what the title of the book has to do with the content. Most of the book was about Robert trying to get some postal boxes in the town--not really the most exciting thing I've ever read. They find a skeleton under the bushes in their yard, but that really has nothing to do with anything and is just the skeleton of some Indian girl who has been dead for many, many years. Somebody is murdered, but he's a very minor character, and finding the murderer seemed anti-climatic. I also wonder why Robert and Lily don't work. They don't seem to be rich, yet neither of them have a job but seem to plan to sit around their house for 10 years doing nothing. Maybe if I'd started reading this series with the first book, I would have liked it better.
—Susan
6th book in series, set in Upstate New York in 1933. Since the town's post office burned down, the mail is simply dumped at the train station, where people go through the bags to find their own. When Robert observes gossipy old women pawing through other people's mail and threatening to destroy some of it (for the recipient's own good), he takes action to plan a mail-sorting station in the station. Then of course a murder takes place, and Robert feels he has to help investigate. When some landscaping work is done at Grace and Favor, a skeleton is found. Are the two deaths connected? (not at all) Not my favorite of these mysteries.
—Lucy
