Who's Sorry Now? (Grace & Favor Mysteries, No. 6)

By Jill Churchill

Book Overview

Sister and brother duo Lily and Robert Brewster may not have a penny to their names, but at least they're in good company -- times couldn't be tougher in the Hudson River Valley during the Great Depression, and even the much-revered chief of police has abandoned his boardinghouse. The poor town has been stripped of its post office, too. Now mail gets dumped off the trains steaming along the Hudson River, and people have to rummage through the bags to find their letters and packages. When a shocked Robert discovers a group of gossipy old women snooping through other people's mail -- even threatening to destroy it -- he knows something must be done. Perhaps he could hire the kindly train porter, who recently helped haul bags for a young widow and her newly arrived German grandfather, to sort through the mail in an orderly (and private) fashion? But when the porter is found dead, and a red swastika is found painted on the pretty widow's grandfather's shop window, Robert knows that something much deeper, and much darker, is happening in his sleepy little town. Even back at Grace and Favor, where Lily and Robert live, things are falling apart. The Harbinger brothers -- Voorburg's favorite handymen, who've been hired to work on the mansion's grounds -- have just unearthed a very, very old skeleton -- right in the Brewsters' front yard Could the two murders be related? It's up to Lily and Robert to find out the truth before their quiet community is torn apart by hatred, secrets, and a killer who may have set his sights on Grace and Favor. . . .

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060734590
• ISBN13: 9780060734596
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: William Morrow
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.9" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

A-Okay!!

After my disppapointment over book #5-IT HAD TO BE YOU, I didn't know what to expect with this one-#6, also after reading the negative reviews about it. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. In my opinion it's a very nice read and definitely up to par with the earlier books in this series. I'd say that the author is back on track! How nice to see Robert's character develop, change and become more mature and much less self-centered. It would have been nice to have more of Lily in the story, but that's okay. I also enjoyed the focus on Police Chief Walker and truly enjoyed his new deputy. As far as the "closure" on the finding of the skeleton, I felt that this did happen and was added to by Chief Walker's musings on his own Indian roots. I really did appreciate that aspect of the story and had been hoping since his character was introduced several books earlier that more info would appear about his Native American background. The mystery part of the story made sense and followed a logical course without being obvious, whereas in book 5, I did not think so. There was definitely something missing in book 5. Now I can hardly wait for the next title - SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES - which is suppose to be available in 8-09. Keep up the good story Judy!

These are only getting better and better

I'm really enjoying this series even more than I did at the beginning. I really like that the author is bringing more characters into the stories, and developing the characters well. Not only do I get a feeling for the siblings and the accountant and his wife, now I'm getting a good feel for the characters of the other boarders, the policemen, and several other people in the town. Great character development. Reminds me of the best days in Pickaxe, back when there was a plot to follow over there..... This is definitely a series to read, and this one did not disappoint!

You won't be . . .

As always, the writing is so descriptive, you'll think you're a new boarder at Grace and Favor Mansion, the home of Lily and Robert Brewster in upstate Voorburg-on-Hudson, New York. Of course, being set in 1933, it's no picnic, being in the midst of the Great Depression. Lily and Robert have no money, and no very good way to earn any, but at least the spirited and spunky sister and brother have a reasonably good roof over their heads. The great house was an inheritance from a great-uncle they'd never met, and naturally, there's a catch. He left them no money, and the proviso that they have to live in the house for ten year-mainly by their wits-and it'll be theirs. They can't be away from the house for more than a few weeks at a time, or they'll lose it. This time around, Robert has discovered a local problem and proceeds to do something about it, surprising both himself and his sister by his acumen. Having lost its Post Office, the inhabitants of the little town receive mail by train six days a week, but they all sort it themselves. This leads to all sorts of complications, and with the help of the Harbingers-the local handymen-Robert devises a plan and presents it to the town council. Before this can even happen, the nominee for sorting the mail is killed. Another new resident, a recent refugee from Germany is harrassed, and Chief Walker is pushed to his limit trying to solve these two seemingly unrelated cases. His present deputy leaves to get married, opening the way for the Chief to bring in a more promising young deputy. And, in the commotion surrounding all these events, a skeleton is discovered buried under the shrubbery surrounding Grace and Favor. Everything else gets resolved very neatly in the 244 pages, except for this discovery. Other than sketchy ideas as to age and sex, this episode is entirely overlooked! Hmmm. I've heard of fore-shadowing events to come, but they're usually in the same book, at least. Well, at least there should be another one in this wonderful and delightful series. Right? Even considering this boo-boo, I still have to give this book 5 stars. It's a most pleasurable reading experience.