Book Description
Award-winning author Jill Churchill once again brings a bit of dazzle to the Great Depression, in her fourth captivating and colorful trip up New York's Hudson River for some high living -- and dying -- in hard times.
Sister and brother Lily and Robert Brewster, raised in the lap of luxury, may no longer have a penny to their names, but at least they have a roof over their heads -- which is more than many can say in this bleak November of 1932. This is thanks to their eccentric great-uncle, whose will allows them to live in his mansion on a sprawling estate in Voorburg-on-Hudson. And now there's even some cash rolling in, since the Brewsters have taken part-time teaching duties at the local grade school.
But their luck turns sour when a mysterious and badly disguised stranger comes to Grace and Favor willing to pay generously to have a secret meeting there shortly before the presidential election. Are they gangsters? Pretty Boy Floyd is rumored to be somewhere near. Or worse, are they a rabid pro-Hoover political group trying to stop Roosevelt from being elected at the last minute by making up some nasty gossip about him?
When one of the mystery guests is murdered in his bath, a little boy is kidnapped, and Chief Howard Walker can't find anywhere to house all his suspects except the local Hospital for the Criminally Insane, the pace becomes hectic. In the end a local woman, a secretary from upriver whom Lily has befriended, and one of the children at the school provide the vital clues that allow Lily to put two and two together. But only after a wild car chase with three women drivers.
Jill Churchill is the winner of the Agatha and Macavity Mystery Readers Awards and was nominated for an Anthony Award for her bestselling Jane Jeffry series. She is the author of three previous Grace & Favor mystery novels, Anything Goes, In the Still of the Night, and Someone to Watch Over Me, and lives in the Midwest.
Customer Reviews:
Work of NO!.......2005-09-12
This book was no where touchy-feely like i thought it would be. I thought it would be really cute and sweet and make me smily at night, but NO! It had to be hard, and evil. The people in this book made me very angery, and its no good when Nenis is Mad! NO NO NO! ask anyone in Kens, China. Someone should rip this book of the shelfs to DISTROY it! Never let another innocent person's virgen eyes be hurt by these boring pages. DO SOMEONE A FAVOR!! DONT READ!!!
-NO! (startrackn00t@aol.com) Contact me ;) (Nenis)
A Grace and Favor Mystery anyone?.......2005-05-27
In order to support themselves, Lily and Robert Brewster have turned the Grace and Favor mansion that they live in (which, according to their uncle's will, they may do until they die themselves) into a bed and breakfast.
They also find themselves in the position to do a little part-time teaching after Millicent Langston, a local teacher, mysteriously disappears following a visit home due to medical reasons. In the Depression, every little bit counts, and so Robert and Lily both consider themselves fortunate to have each opportunity.
But, when a stranger requests to rent a room at the bed and breakfast for the outrageous amount of $500, Lily and Robert are reluctant to accept. The stranger obviously has a few secrets that he intends to keep to himself, and Lily suspects that it might not be such a good idea to allow him, and his mysterious cohorts, access to their home. There is no specific reason to turn down the offer, though, especially since they are lacking any solid proof of foul play.
Both Lily and Robert are shocked to discover that one of their secret guests is none other than the Brother Mark Luke Goodheart. Even more shocking is the fact that Brother Goodheart has been found murdered, in one of the bed and breakfast's bathtubs.
Brother Goodheart was a notoriously lecherous radio preacher, much hated by a variety of people, so the list of suspects is quite long. Police Chief Walker fears that he might never find out what really happen. At his request, Lily joins in the investigation. What follows is a delightful tale of twists and turns and mysterious coincidences.
Set in 1932, LOVE FOR SALE had a very authentic historical setting. One could almost feel the ambience of the great mansion and sense the strength of the lively characters residing there in the Depression. Reminiscent of the stories told by the "old timers" about this era, LOVE FOR SALE imparts a certain homey charm. Readers will get a glimpse of "the good old days" through the imagination of author Jill Churchill.
In LOVE FOR SALE, Jill Churchill has written an imaginative novel that will keep most readers guessing until the final culmination. Churchill's style of writing was refreshingly pure and sweet, her characters having morals and values that are seldom found in contemporary novels. The only disappointment that readers may find on the pages of this mystery are a few dry passages, other than that, LOVE FOR SALE delivers a mysteriously enjoyable read.
(...)
Radio Static Backdrops Tinny voice, "This Is The Operator.".......2005-04-06
Oh my. Another one of those yummy covers which makes me want to leap into its picture and soak up the art.
The luxurious color-combo is literally healing in its delicious hue-intensity with primal-contrast; the design paints an addictive, nouveau-uplift on historic mysteries; the tangy texture of raised print nudges fingers to slide over the face; the extra flap-under-cover is welcoming, exposing the publisher's commitment to the book's value. Love the way the crescent moon leads the eye to the yellow light in an upstairs window on the brick mansion, then to the flapping pink curtain. Love how these image icons are repeated from the external scenes into the upstairs bathroom as itchy fingers open the flap. Drool. Slurp.
Churchill's confidence gracefully shows itself as the plot rhythm and character development eases off to a tattoo of Lilly, John, and support cast unhurriedly discussing life and politics. The story doesn't need to surge into a mystery mode until around page 37 of the paperback, when the murder is up. The event is staged with panache, and the characters hop to; shifting effortlessly into a hot-step jazz. I didn't quite notice I had been taken for a ride; but, of course, that's what I was there for.
The mystery kicks in, a la Agatha Christie; it's easy to see why Churchill's been compared to Miss Christie, even said to have surpassed the Master.
The story hums along smoothly in a snappy beat; so much so that, once the story ends, the reader is left with the stillness of true silence. The feeling is like that of a refrigerator compressor, humming as un-noticed "white noise" in the background. Once the motor stops, however, a warm body having been resting in the soothing, active presence is abruptly transported from what he had adjusted to as an ongoing reality in a cozily buzzing cocoon, into the empty exaggeration of the chill of motionless existence.
Sometimes that cessation of refrigerator-type-buzz is felt as relief.
Other times it is felt as a loss carrying a nearly overwhelming sense of grief.
When the hum of the mystery-in-process in LOVE FOR SALE culminates at the final period on the last page, there's a feeling of "Oh no, don't end, not yet."
This is the call of the cozy mystery sub-genre, a call which is heard and answered, in this novel especially.
Maybe it's the live-in quality of this sub-genre which somehow gives it the right (or the necessity) to continue, in ongoing, addictive series. Though the act of murder is as far from cozy as a warm body can get, maybe the desire for it's resolution and ultimate cessation is nurtured within that culture of comfort.
If that desire grows strong enough, might triumph and redemption win in our species?
See what type of contemplation Churchill's "simple" cozy, LOVE FOR SALE, can elicit from the soul of a reader who loves a good mystery resolved well?
Not wanting to conclude before mentioning some of the unique pulls of this story, I'll note that Chief Walker, the investigator, does not typically fade into the background as the amateur sleuth does the real work of exposing the dirt. Walker is an unusually warm, hired servant of justice, who methodically, yet compassionately walks determinedly, unwaveringly through his job. He's like a Columbo without the build up of bungle. In a typical Churchill character draw, Chief Walker is easy to be with, non-assuming, not a tough guy, just endearingly responsible in a step-by-step sort of way. He serves people simultaneously to serving justice.
I was intrigued by the hits here and there of the historic setting, when radio knobs are tuned for updates on "what's going on," instead of Remote Controls aimed and fired; when rarely made, heavily assisted by the Operator, long-distance phone calls are required, instead of flip-open cell phones lifted from humongous purses. Then there's the political pull of presidents elected, with the plot opening and closing as characters discuss and deal with Roosevelt in process of taking the gantlet from Truman.
Jill Churchill must have a worm hole or time machine somewhere in her closet, to be able to successfully work two mystery series, which are ages and universes apart in culture and style. I hope she never allows any discouragement lurking "In The Still of The Night" to break down the reality between her creativity and its deserved manifestation.
Well done, lady!
Linda G. Shelnutt
GRACE & FAVOR.......2004-11-13
I read this book and it was okay at first but I was bored with it rather quickly. I put it down after the first two chapters. I would rate it between 1.25 and 2 stars.
Genteel fun that's a trip back in time.......2004-10-24
Ready for an escapist mystery that will take you back to a time when life was a bit more genteel? Travel back to the Depression, where in Love for Sale people actually seem to live richer lives than in the modern prosperous era. Without glamorizing the hard times of the past, this cozy mystery, starring a brother and sister team, makes us long for the days of white gloves, croquet, and milk delivered to the door.
But milk isn't all Lily and Robert Brewster find on the doorstep of the manor their late great-uncle left them. In true cozy mystery form, the unsuspecting amateur detectives discover a missing grade school teacher, uncover Road to Perdition-style mob activity as well as political conspiracy aimed at President Roosevelt's election (and you thought the President Bush-Senator Kerry grudge match was nasty), and figure out who killed Charles Pottinger (a.k.a. the radio preacher Brother Goodheart) in their very house. Seems there was more than Bible-thumping going on among the Reverend and his friends, who include the bizarre Nobby Hazard (reminiscent of Renfrew in Dracula, minus the vermin eating). Who would want to kill Brother Goodheart? How about his illegitimate son, who is tossed out as an interesting, if predictable, red herring that never goes anywhere and remains a loose end? Why do we detect the hint of a lesbian quarrel in the disappearance of the schoolteacher?
And why question any of these things? Thanks to Jill Churchill's vivid tale of a bygone era, we can enjoy genteel times again without the Depression and with the whodunit. Much grace and favor to Jill Churchill.
Book Description
Between 1900 and the 1970s, twenty million southerners migrated north and west. Weaving together for the first time the histories of these black and white migrants, James Gregory traces their paths and experiences in a comprehensive new study that demonstrates how this regional diaspora reshaped America by "southernizing" communities and transforming important cultural and political institutions.
Challenging the image of the migrants as helpless and poor, Gregory shows how both black and white southerners used their new surroundings to become agents of change. Combining personal stories with cultural, political, and demographic analysis, he argues that the migrants helped create both the modern civil rights movement and modern conservatism. They spurred changes in American religion, notably modern evangelical Protestantism, and in popular culture, including the development of blues, jazz, and country music.
In a sweeping account that pioneers new understandings of the impact of mass migrations, Gregory recasts the history of twentieth-century America. He demonstrates that the southern diaspora was crucial to transformations in the relationship between American regions, in the politics of race and class, and in the roles of religion, the media, and culture.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent look in population shift.......2007-07-27
This was required reading for a graduate course in American history.
In his book The Southern Diaspora: How the Great Migrations of Black and White Southerners Transformed America, author James N. Gregory proceeds thematically, rather than chronologically. His intent is to use a stereoscopic method (stereoscopes set two similar but different images next to each other, thus tricking the eyes and the brain into fusing the images in a way that makes them three dimensional) in order to achieve a third dimension (page 8): not only to examine the great internal movements of black and white peoples from the American South to the American North and West, but also to examine the social, cultural, economic, and political impact that this massive internal movement of peoples had on the history of America during the twentieth century.
Gregory's The Southern Diaspora is divided into nine chapters: Chapter 1, "A Century of Migration," is an overview of the of the migration cycles and the changing economics and demography of these migrations over the course of the twentieth century, concluding that the Southern Diaspora was numerically larger than previous scholars have understood; Chapter 2, "Migration Stories," surveys the public meanings of the two sets of exoduses and highlights the unique role that media institutions and social scientists played in shaping the expectations and interactions of southerners on the move; Chapter 3, "Success and Failure," answers questions about the economic experience of black and white southerners, dismantling the maladjustment paradigm that had been so prominent in previous scholarship while also showing the critical differences in the opportunity structure facing black and white southern migrants; Chapter 4,
"The Black Metropolis," examines the communities that African Americans built in the major cities, resurrecting the label "Black Metropolis" and mapping the new and powerful cultural apparatus of those communities; Chapter 5, "Uptown and Beyond," examines the very different community formations of white southerners who spread out through suburbs and rural areas as well as big cities, struggled with confusing issues of social identity, and developed cultural institutions of historical import (e.g., diaspora country music and the white diaspora literary community would help to reshape understandings of both region and race); Chapter 6. "Gospel Highways," explores the diaspora's impact on American religion as both racial groups built Baptist and Pentecostal churches and helped to revitalize and spread evangelical Protestantism, with important political as well as religious implications for America; Chapter 7, "Leveraging Civil Rights," develops the issue of black political influence, demonstrating how important geography was to the initial phases of what ultimately became the civil rights movement;
Chapter 8, "Re-figuring Conservatism," brings the white migrants into the story of race, class, and regional transformations, exploring contributions to white working class conservatism on the one hand, and to new formulations of white liberalism on the other. Chapter 9, "Great
Migrations," brings te diaspora to a close in the 1970s and 1980s, and summarized some of Gregory's major findings (pages 8 and 9).
One important point made by Gregory is that for as long as there was something called the American South, southerners in significant numbers had been leaving; the South itself expanded through migration as white southerners in the early 1800s carved out new states for cotton and
slavery, while others moved to places north and west that today are understood to be regionally separate from the South. White out-migration was especially heavy in the two decades after the Civil War, with many leaving for farming opportunities and others settling in the North's big
cities-New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago-where the nation's commerce was concentrated. By the end of the nineteenth century, there were more than 1 million southern-born whites living outside their birth region. Census takers also counted more than 335,000 southern born African Americans living in the North and West in 1900 (page 12).
African Americans had left the South in the nineteenth century for different reasons and in different directions. Before the Civil War, some had been taken west by slaveholders who dared to move their human property into places like California and Kansas; others had escaped
northward, typically to Ohio, upstate New York, Massachusetts, and Canada. There was also something of an exodus of free black people from the South after 1830, with many of them settling in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Emancipation increased out-migration among black southerners, much of it directed toward northern cities (New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago were key destinations for freed people from Virginia and Maryland after the Civil War), but rural destinations were also and equally important: black southern migration, frequently organized by "colonization" or "emigration" societies, moved north into Indiana and west into Kansas from Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee in the 1870s and 1880s (pages 12 and 13).
The central thesis of Gregory's Southern Diaspora: How the Great Migrations of Black and White Southerners Transformed America, is threefold. First, the size of the black and white southern diaspora was much more substantial than previously reported: over the course of the
twentieth century, close to 8 million black southerners, nearly 20 million white southerners, and more than 1 million southern-born Latinos participated in the diaspora (page 14). Second, the twentieth century southern diaspora can be divided into two periods: the first phase of migration . starts during the initial decade of the century, grows in the second decade when at least 1.3 million southerners leave home, reaches a peak in the 1920s with 2 million new black and white southern migrants, then tapers off in the 1930s; a much bigger second wave begins with World
War II when more than 4 million southerners move north or west, grows even larger in the 1950s when at least 4.3 million leave the South, remains near that level through the 1960s and 1970s, and then declines in the 1980s and 1990s (pages 14 and 15). Third, white southern out-migrants
outnumbered black southern out-migrants during every decade of the twentieth century, and usually by a large margin. But the southern black exodus had the more important impact: blacks were leaving the South at much higher rates than whites, and many were going to geographic
regions that had known little racial diversity (pages 15 and 17). The largest number of black migrants lived in the Great Lakes states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin); they were also the key destination for white southerners. The Middle Atlantic states (New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey) were second as a destination for African Americans, but-with the exception of New York City-much less popular with whites. The Pacific states was the third important area of settlement for both groups, especially California: by 1970, more than 1.6
million white and 571,000 black southerners lived in that state. California was also the chief destination for Tejanos and other southern-born Latinos, 213,000 of whom had settled there by 1970; Hispanic southerners had also migrated to Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana (pages 18 and 19).
Gregory challenges the image that southern migrants in the north and west were merely helpless and poor. While they faced many cultural, social, and economic challenges from within and without their culture, these migrants also had a substantial support system of family relations, organizations, and institutions that enabled them not just to survive, but even to thrive and succeed in differing environments despite tremendous odds. Financially, the majority of southern migrants did much better than their contemporaries who chose to remain in the South.
Whites and blacks left the South for related but somewhat different reasons, and found very different opportunities in the North and West. Those differences turned on the central issue of race, and from that flowed other significant differences derived from geography, class dynamics, and community formation patterns. Racial privilege granted southern white migrants significant economic and spatial advantages (i.e., the choice of where, how, and with whom they settled) over their black counterparts; that advantage was used to choose the best housing they could afford in the least dense neighborhoods, often in outlying, rather than central, urban areas. The fact that black and white southerners settled in different sorts of places, in different
concentrations would have implications not just on southern individual and group experiences, but on the North, the West, and the nation as a whole. Despite the fact that white migrants had greater numbers, black migrants gained capacities to influence cultural and political institutions that would ultimately dictate profound historical changes; The fact that whites chose dispersion over concentration, and opted for places that initially would not be centers of political and cultural power, worked against the construction of physically defined southern white communities. The loyalties and activities of elites and middle-class migrants became a key resource for African American communities, while white, middle class expatriates kept their distance from working class migrants, limiting the possibilities for group institution building and political influence. White southern migrants were influential in the promotion of evangelical churches, the development and spread of country music, and in the particular brand of racial conservatism and white working class politics that benefited from southern white symbolism.
African American influence was more comprehensive and consequential: the building of communities in the major cities in America during a period when those cities monopolized important forms of power, especially in media (publishing houses, newspapers, magazines, record companies, theatre, and film), inspired African American literature and artistic endeavors in a myriad of forms and in a slow, but steady and meaningful acknowledgement of its worth. Politically, the particular arrangement of parties, unions, and municipal and federal governments in northern metropolises, especially during the "long New Deal," gave black voters and activists opportunities to leverage governmental power. By working with allies that were available only in those places, by finding balance-of-power openings that appeared as urban regimes reorganized (and as the northern democratic Party tried to consolidate its hold on federal power)-while using tactics that were safe and effective only in those settings-the seams of power were loosened in a governmental system that previously had rarely responded to the demands of socially despised minorities (pages 325-327). Finally, regional reconstruction was the other
important legacy of the Southern Diaspora. Over time, black and white migrants southernized aspects of the regions they settled by introducing tastes, practices, and institutions-including food, music, religion, accents, and political styles-that moderated the differences between the
South and the rest of the United States (page 327).
In my opinion, Gregory has successfully presented a thematic history of the black and white disapora from the American South to points North and West. The only weakness, as I see it, is that this examination could not have been made in a more chronological, and less thematic fashion. Or given the daunting nature of his effort, if the had been more satisfied to provide a more intensive examination of only one or only several of his intended themes, the work would not give this reader a sense of being "all over the place." Nevertheless, Gregory has contributed a
necessary work of revisionist history of scholastic depth and eminent readability.
Recommended reading for anyone interested in American history.
harder experiences for blacks than for whites.......2007-06-24
By now, several historians have looked at the experiences in the massive migrations of Negroes from the American South to its northern cities from 1900 to the post World War 2 era. But of course, many poor southern whites also voted with their feet and moved north. The unifying theme Gregory has chosen is to look at both migrations. And to compare and contrast the experiences of both groups.
For studying whites, he goes beyond looking at the so-called hillbilly ghettos that sprang up in various northern cities. In the popular (white northern) imagination of the times, these were considered well nigh akin to the often neighbouring black ghettos. Gregory points out that most southern whites had quite different experiences, though they were still invariably stereotyped by white northerners.
We see examples of blacks and whites struggling to improve themselves. Often politically. While there were indeed many common facets, what persistently emerges is that blacks had to work harder to overcome obstacles.
Required for class.......2007-02-10
This book was required reading by a professor. His superior intellect decided this was a good book so I am compelled to agree... even if I didn't read it.
Book Description
Lily Wilk always knew she was destined to be an artist -- ever since she pulled a drawing kit from a grab bag on her tenth birthday. Now Lily's work is always in demand around her small Massachusetts town, where she makes her living painting fire hydrants, lettering diplomas, and applying "Gulls" and "Buoys" to restaurant bathroom doors. But when supermarket heiress Mary Ziemba commissions her to paint a family portrait, Lily senses her lifelong dream of creating a memorable masterpiece is finally within her grasp. What she discovers, however, is that dreams often take their own unexpected twists...and with each small and gentle brush stroke she applies to Mary Ziemba's painting, Lily learns more than she ever imagined about the meaning of friendship, family, and love. With a gift for creating fiction that is "rich with an unusual sweetness"(USA Today)and filled with wry humor, bestselling author Suzanne Strempek Shea delivers a poignant and unforgettable work of art in Lily of the Valley.
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful story about the true meaning of family..........2006-08-02
Since childhood, Lily Wilk's dreamed of being an artist. But at nearly age 40, her career centers upon designing T-shirts for tourists and painting murals in the windows of local businesses. To make matters worse, Lily's husband has just returned to his ex-wife, wrenching her beloved stepson, Little Ted, from her life forever.
Out of nowhere, Lily receives a phone call one day from the most successful businesswoman in town. Mary Ziemba wants to commission Lily for a special project -- using photographs of her family members during the best years of their lives to paint a portrait. Sensing her big chance, Lily quickly agrees.
But it isn't nearly as easy to complete the project as Lily had imagined. She develops a creative block, fearing that whatever she does won't be good enough for the wealthy older woman.
Then Lily learns a few startling truths, both about Mary's relatives, and the reason behind the portrait itself. It's then that Lily understands a person's family can be of their choosing, and that they can carry the people they love within their hearts long after they're gone.
Although I've read and loved all of Shea's books, I thought this one was especially interesting, simply because of the surprise ending. I really and truly would never have guessed what's revealed about Mary and the painting, and that's a rare treat as a reader.
Good job, Suzanne Strempek Shea!
Unique and Moving Tribute to Family Love.......2005-03-12
What is a family? Simply a biological collection of mother/father/kids? Or, more than that, a scattering of unique and unrelated people who make up one's extended group of loved ones?
That question is charmingly explored in Lily of the Valley, the story of one 39-year-old Polish-American artist living in Western Massachusetts who has been dealt a series of life blows. Her husband and step-son have returned to the first wife when the story opens. Lily is bereft, hurting, questioning everything about herself and her profession. For, artist though she is, Lily mainly paints signs in shop windows, or, in one major job, a mural of heaven on the wall of the town's funeral parlor.
What keeps Lily going is her collection of people. Her best friend Louise and husband, who own the restaurant above which Lily lives (and who tell her just to stomp on the floor if they need her). Their teenaged daughter Heather. A quirky, truly "different" career counselor. The owner of the funeral parlor, who constantly says, "I know, I know," when he doesn't. Lily's fabulous Uncle Unc, and his longtime (VERY longtime) but very proper lady friend Phyllis. All of these people enrich and fill Lily's world, but she has lost sight of that fact after her husband decamps.
Enter the mysterious Mary Ziemba, the town philanthropist and wealthy owner of a chain of successful supermarkets. Mary summons Lily up to her mansion on the hill to commission her for a painting. A REAL painting. Working from snapshots and Mary's moving and interesting stories, Lily slowly puts together just the painting Mary wanted: Herself in the center surrounded by her loved ones. And the truth behind the painting sets Lily free to become herself again.
Simply charming, unique, and special. A book not to miss!
Wistful but depressing.......2004-12-30
Lily Wilk , aged nearly 40, lives in the same small town that her family has lived in since they emigrated to the US from Poland. As a child, she finds that she has a talent for drawing and eventually makes that her full time job, doing calligraphy and painting signs for shops.When her parents move to Florida, she moves into the upstairs flat over the local fish shop, leading a moderately happy life until the break up of her marriage to her childhood sweetheart.I get the feeling that she is more unhappy about not seeing her ex husbands' son by a former marriage, than the actual loss of er husband, a fact which makes her more depressed than ever. She is commissioned to paint a family portrait by the towns' wealthiest woman, a recluse who fought her way to the top by selling vegetables from a push cart.
The whole story consists of snippets from both Lilys' family and that of her client, but it just doesn't jell properly and left me feeling dissatisfied and vaguely depressed.
America's unsung novelist.......2003-02-12
I've never done this, but love reading 'em. Hate when plotlines are given away. All I can say is if you like Wally Lamb, Anna Quindlan, Alice McDermott, you'll love Suzanne Strempek Shea. Especially this book. She is an original. And, funny, too.
--A delightful story--.......2002-11-27
I find Suzanne Strempek Shea to be a wonderful author. She manages through her stories to explore the lives of ordinary people and provide insight into their minds and their dreams. This imaginative story takes us into the life of a young Polish-American woman named Lily Wilk who is a loving daughter, great friend, good stepmother and a very unique artist.
Lily knew since she was ten years old that she was going to be an artist. A grab bag gift of a drawing kit was given to her and it contained three instructions, which she followed. Then she was told, "Congratulations, now you are an artist." Lily never questioned the idea and of course she became an artist. Her calling card is printed with a Lily of the Valley flower and she always has some type of work to do. Not only does Lily do the traditional canvas painting, she paints signs, fire hydrants, does fancy lettering, and is proud that she's providing needed services to her community. She has even given art lessons when asked. The odd-job type of work supports Lily, but she desires and wants to do some type of a personal masterpiece.
Even the richest woman in town is aware of Lily's talents and commissions her to do a painting of her family, Lily replies "I can make for you whatever you want." Her no nonsense approach to life is very refreshing. and the quaint speech patterns that she and some of the other characters use are reminiscent of my own Polish-American experience, and give an authentic flavor to the story. As with the other works by this author, SELLING THE LITE OF HEAVEN and HOOPI SHOOPI DONNA, the ending is unexpected.
This is a well-written and original story.
Book Description
Award-winning author Jill Churchill takes us back to beautiful Grace & Favor, the tiny town along the Hudson River known for tradition, charm . . . and murder.
March 3, 1933, the day before Franklin Roosevelt's inauguration. While Robert Brewster heads to Washington, D.C., to witness the historic event, his sister, Lily, travels to a nursing home near Grace & Favor. The owner, Miss Twibell, has lost an assistant nurse, and the siblings have agreed to help out.
The home is full of colorful characters, including a cantankerous old man named Sean Connor, the only patient who is seriously ill. The very day the Brewsters arrive, he slips into a coma and passes away. Though saddened, no one is surprised by his death -- until it's revealed that he's been murdered. The old man wasn't well liked, but who would bother to murder him when he had so little time left? Several people had visited his room that morning, and there are plenty of suspects. Good motives, on the other hand, are thin on the ground.
And Mr. Connor isn't the only victim in town. Over the winter, a young man went missing and was presumed dead, though no body was found. Now that the spring sun has melted the ice, a body has surfaced. Is this the missing man or has a third crime been committed?
With multiple murders plaguing the community, the Brewster siblings are more committed than ever to helping the police find a cold-blooded criminal before he strikes again.
Customer Reviews:
Cozy Historical Mystery.......2005-12-03
Robert and Lily Brewster are siblings trying to make ends meet during the Depression. They have inherited their great uncle's mansion, but still must take in boarders and do odd jobs to earn money. In this installment in the "Grace and Favor" series, they take temporary jobs in a nursing home. Before long they are involved in another mystery when one of the patients is smothered in his bed. There are plenty of suspects, including the patient's wife and family, many of whom haven't seen or talked to him in years. But then another body turns up and the Brewsters, along with Chief of Police Howard Walker, work to find out if the two cases are related and catch the murderer.
"It Had to Be You" is an amusing, if light mystery. The historical details, Franklin Roosevelt has just been elected President, are the most interesting parts of the book. Lily and Robert and strong characters, maturing with each book in the series. While there have been hints in the descriptions of the various books that Lily is attracted to Howard Walker, it doesn't come across that way in the book, there's no sense of any attraction between the two of them. I hope that's developed in future books.
The mystery itself is pretty light. Jill Churchill throws in plenty of suspects, but it's pretty obvious from the beginning who the murderer is. I read the book hoping that Churchill would throw in a plot twist and have someone else commit the murder, but I was disappointed. And she never explains why the murder took place when the victim was very ill and hours away from dying.
This is a good but unchallenging mystery.
puts the 'cozy' in cozy mystery!.......2005-05-13
My first in this series to read and it stood on its own very well. The characters were welldefined and the only part I didn't like would be how I felt when it ended and I read the title again. I felt silly for not figuring it out more!
Lily and Robert fill in at a nursing home and quick as you please, a patient dies mysteriously. Typical plan follows to question everyone and it leads them to the killer.
Reprint!.......2005-04-01
Our story begins on Friday, March 3, 1933. Robert and Lily Brewster are siblings trying to make it through the Depression. They live in their great-uncle's "Grace and Favor" mansion, penniless but doing well. Franklin Roosevelt's inauguration is under way. Robert even makes a very uncomfortable trip to Washington to witness the historic even.
The day after Robert returns home (he needed a day to recover), he goes with Lily to their new temporary job. Miss Twibell has turned her huge house into a nursing home and one of her employees is out sick for awhile.
Trouble follows the Brewsters, as it normally does, One of the elderly residents, Mr. Sean Connor, is murdered in his bed. The bizarre thing is that everyone knew Mr. Connor only had a few more hours to live anyway. Why would someone bother to kill him? Since he was such an ill tempered man, he had no close friends. No one seems to have liked the man; not even his wife or kids. His children has had no contact with Mr. or Mrs. Connor in years.
Chief of Police Howard Walker is on the case, but he cannot seem to make much head way. Not for lack of trying though. Howard is an excellent cop. The Connor case is not the only one on Howard's mind. Spring thaw has turned up another body that had spent the cold months under an iced over pond.
***** Be warned that this is a reprint! Now that you know, let me inform you about his good mystery. The author did an outstanding job with this tale. The characters are all believable and the era description is true to form. Historical data has been inserted as well, which gives it all a realistic glow. Author Jill Churchill's fan base is about to grow. *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
Trying hard, but falling short.......2005-03-05
After reading the last entry in the Jane Jeffry mystery series and being less than impressed, I was hoping for more from the latest in the Grace & Favor series. Unfortunately, I was disappointed again. While the book does do a wonderful job of transporting the reader to a small town in New York during the Depression, it does a less than masterful job of solving the mystery in the book.
If you have not read the book, you may wish to skip the rest of my review as it will not tell you whodunnit, but will give away some of the plot.
The story opens with Lily and Robert having gotten yet another part-time job - this one at the nursing home up the road. The first day that both of them are working there, a crochety patient is suffocated to death in his bed. The odd thing is that the patient had slipped into a coma and according to Miss Twibell, the proprietor of the home, would have probably passed away that day regardless. While this detail is constantly mentioned throughout the book, the resolution does not explain the need for the patient to be murdered when he would have died anyway. There are many unresolved details in the book that are probably there as red herrings, however instead of being neatly explained later, they are just left hanging at the end of the book. I don't know if Ms. Churchill originally intended for another character to be the murderer or not, but I feel the book could have been much more entertaining from a mystery perspective had she chosen another character for the villain.
If you are looking for a entertaining and diverting read with a secondary mystery, this book would be fine. However, if you are expecting a rollicking mystery with a twist, skip it. Not Ms. Churchill's best - not even close.
Lily and Robert help solve who killed Sean Conner.......2004-12-16
It's 1933. Lily and her brother Robert not only take in boarders at Grace and Favor, but they also take on jobs now and then. Miss Twibell who runs a local nursing home has hired them while her assistant nurse is out sick.
There are many colorful characters in the home. One old man, Sean Connor, is the only seriously ill patient. He is also very hard to deal with. He slips into a coma and passes away. No one was surprised by his death as he was very ill. That is, until it is discovered he was murdered. Why would anyone murder him when he only had hours left? He wasn't well liked, even by his family. So, there are lots of suspects. He had several visits the morning he was killed.
Then a body surfaces when the spring arrives and melts the ice. Could this be the young mad who had disappeared last winter? Or has a third crime been committed?
Lily and Robert become involved in helping to solve these crimes. Plus Robert makes some great suggested to Miss Twibell to upgrade her home and assists with those upgrades.
Motives for Mr. Connor's death are not as abundant as suspects, so it takes a lot of detecting and interviewing for it to be discovered and the guilty party caught.
I love this series. Lily and Robert are terrific. This is one of the few series set back in time that I enjoy so thoroughly. Jill Churchill has done a wonderful job creating these characters and the setting. The other people in town are also great characters in this series. They are all so well crafted. I feel like I'm there when I read a book in this series. Her books are so easy to read, and you don't want to put them down.
I highly recommend this book. The Grace and Favor series is not to be missed.
Average customer rating:
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The Lily of the Valley
Honore de Balzac
Manufacturer: Dodo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Balzac, Honore de
| ( B )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1406506575 |
Book Description
The incomparable, award-winning author of the bestselling Jane Jeffry series travels far from the contemporary Chicago suburbs to Depression-era New York State, where a brother and sister ensconced in a sprawling mansion on the banks of the Hudson long for better days...and fewer murders!
After the Crash of '29 sent the family fortune south, abruptly penniless, once-high-living Manhattanites Lily and Robert Brewster take up residence in their late great-uncle Horatio's estate in a small town near Hyde Park, renting out rooms to make ends meet until the gargantuan Grace and Favor Cottage is legally theirs ten years on. Though the adjustment has been difficult, the struggling siblings are finally getting used to small-town life. Lily has recently been accepted into the local Ladies League, and while she is away helping the organization do good works, Robert decides to do some much needed renovations...with rather disastrous results.
Robert is tearing down a dilapidated icehouse on the property when he inadvertently stumbles upon the last thing he expects or wants: a mummified corpse. The nameless cadaver is well dressed and the obvious victim of foul play with no identifying marks except the label of an exclusive New York City tailor sewn into his "burial" clothes.
While Lily works hand-in-hand with the disarmingly attractive Chief of Police Howard Walker on the local front, Robert pursues the Manhattan connection in search of an identity for their wellheeled, deceased John Doe. But a second dead body-combined with the World War I Veterans Bonus March on Washington by disgruntled ex-soldiers and a bizarre rash of vegetable pilfering -- is complicating an already complex, murderous matter in this quaint upstate community. And soon the many disparate threads of the investigation are tying up the amateur sleuthing Brewsters in a knotty mess of deception and betrayal...and leaving them dangerously exposed to the watchful eyes of a killer.
Joining Jill Churchill's immensely popular Jane Jeffry novels in hardcover, and deliciously rich in vibrant period color and atmosphere and peopled with an unforgettable cast of unusual characters, Someone to Watch Over Me is yet another unmitigated delight from the bestselling author. It's a wonderful journey back to a time of hope undimmed by national calamity, and innocence undeterred by deadly adversity.
Customer Reviews:
Someone to Watch Over Me.......2004-12-08
After the stock market crash in 1929, the wealthy teenagers Robert and Lily Brewster had no where to go. Both of their parents had died, and they were living off their parents' fortune. Robert and Lily were luckily taken in by their relatives, who are also wealthy and living in the Grace and Favor Mansion.
One day Robert was in his backyard when he discovers a dead body in the ice house. Robert wants to find out who this dead man is and traces all clues. Lily's new friend she met through a Lady's Group, Roxanne, is accused of killing her husband. The body of her husband has not been found, and Roxanne is the only suspect. Lily knows Roxanne would never do such a thing, but she has to prove it to the chief of police.
This book has a shocking ending, which no one will be able to predict. You don't really know the truth as no one is there to witness the event. Even if someone is a witness you don't always know if they are telling the truth. You never know the truth unless you are there, and you see a fact. The truth is the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The characters in this novel are challenged to find the whole truth, because some forget to tell everything they know existed during the murders. This book is a fabulous mystery, and it will amaze you how everything is answered in the end.
A disappointing read this time.......2004-08-07
The editorial reviews sum up the plot well, but don't say that most of the book has nothing to do with solving the murders. The whole bit about the editor's visit to Washington, the despressing discriptions of the government's treatment of the bonus marchers (some of them children) may appeal to history buffs, but had little to do with the crimes in upstate NY. Also the editor's involvement with one of the marchers,a young mother with two children had nothing at all to do with the murders. She was there in a wagon with a mule. I vaguely wondered about the historical accuracy of that. Would there be a mule pulled wagon on the highways between DC and NY in the 30's? But no matter - it was filler. I read another in this series earlier, In the Still of the Night, and enjoyed it, but will not seek out any more of them.
Is this a mystery?.......2004-08-07
This book definitely lacks a substantial plot;it's not even a mystery at all.They solved the murder without any real clue.The murder was not an ingenious one;it looked as if it was done by a 3 year old kid.I almost laughed when they solved the "mystery".The dialouge falls flat,the characters are unreal and the murder was absolutely dumb.I am only 14 and i don't understand how adults can read this book.Jill Churchill cannot be compared to Agatha Christie,she still has a very long way to go.
You Are There...........2004-03-22
In Jill Churchill's third book in the "Grace and Favor" Mystery series, you get a glimpse into the lives of those living through the depression. Yes, the series is meant to be a somewhat light mystery set during the depression-era, but it truly is so much more. You start to see how the depression caused a very wide gap in the social mores of the day when there were very strict adherences to the class structure. Approximately a third of the country was in dire poverty during the height of the depression. In "Someone to Watch Over Me," you start to see how so many of these social snobberies start to be abandoned by Lily and her brother, Robert Brewster. They let the town know that they are not rich, but have suffered complete financial ruin as most of the town has and that it has only been through the miraculous good fortune of being named in their Uncle's will that has enabled them to live in a mansion. Luckily, after a period of 10 years - they will inherit the estate as long as they meet the provisions of the will and earn their living.
Readers are in the midst of the Bonus Army March as they camp out in Washington, D.C. in 1932. Churchill recounts the historic adventure through the eyes of their newspaper editor, Jack Summer who travels to D.C. to get a first-hand glimpse of the protestors.
The papers proclaim that Henry Ford has cut wages and increased hours and hosed down disgruntled employees who are seeking better conditions. ( I was a little confused about this as I knew that in 1914, Ford was the first to establish a "minimum wage" law as he raised the pay from $2.50 to $5.00 - which was a fortune in those days for doing assembly work. Naturally, it helped him retain employees - but I doubt that in 1932 many people were buying automobiles and Ford was trying to keep the company afloat.) It would have been nice if this had been explained.
In between all the historical events, there are two murders and plenty of dialogue. You grow to like these characters more and more with each new book. This Churchill series is as good as it gets!
Another good title in the Grace and Favor series!.......2002-09-13
Someone to Watch Over Me by Jill Churchill is the third book in her Grace and Favor series. The previous two titles, Anything Goes and In the Still of the Night were delightful mysteries and Someone to Watch Over Me is a welcome addition to this series.
Set during the Depression, the once wealthy Brother and sister Lily and Robert inherit their uncle's mansion on the Hudson River. But the inheritance is predicated on the English law of Grace and Favor where they must live in the house for a period of time before they can rightfully own it. And their uncle added one more element to this inheritance in that both Lily and Robert must have jobs in the area and live only in the house before they inherit anything. The house comes with an array of interesting people who work for them in addition to some of the townspeople who quickly become part of their lives.
Unfortunately, times are tough for all including Lily and Robert who few in the village know that their family was a casualty of the Depression early on and their fortune no longer exists. With both their parents now gone, they must figure out a way to make ends meet. They come up with one idea after another to bring in some much needed income while they also somehow become amateur detectives. As she did in her two previous books, Ms. Churchill presents first one murder victim and then another as Lily and Robert become entangled in solving the murder And not content to have only one main plot at work, Churchill fully explores the plight of the average person as they deal with the Depression. A most interesting part of the book is when the author describes the workers march on Washington, DC for wages as well as their living conditions in tent cities erected around this area.
While I enjoyed the mystery angle of this book, which is enough to satisfy most mystery readers, it is the description of the area around the Hudson and the characters that really interest me in these books. Now once again I am waiting for the next title in this series to find out what everyone is doing and how life has been treating all of them.
Books:
- Maybe Baby: 28 Writers Tell the Truth About Skepticism, Infertility, Baby Lust, Childlessness, Ambivalence, and How They Made the Biggest Decision of Their Lives
- Mother of the Bride: The Dream, the Reality, the Search for a Perfect Dress
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- My Journey to Lhasa: The Classic Story of the Only Western Woman Who Succeeded in Entering the Forbidden City
- Native Tongue
- Neurotica: Jewish Writers on Sex
- No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories
- No Place for Magic: The Fourth Tale of the Frog Princess (Tales of the Frog Princess)
- On the Hunt: How to Wake Up Washington and Win the War on Terror
- Paramedic Care: Principles and Practices, Volume 3: Medical Emergencies (2nd Edition) (Paramedic Care Principles & Practice Series)
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It Had to Be You (Grace & Favor Mystery Series, No. 5)
Someone to Watch Over Me (Grace & Favor Mystery Series #3)
In the Still of the Night (Grace & Favor Mystery Series, No. 2)
Anything Goes (Grace and Favor Mystery Series, No. 1)
Who's Sorry Now? (Grace & Favor Mystery Series #6)
