tina B

Best one yet in the series

Revisado: 01-11-19

A whopping good read with a large number of possible suspects to the murder of a famous English cricket player found asphyxiated in his bed in the cottage he shared with his mistress. As is becoming normal with George's characters, the personal relationships are featured but don't take over the book, there are side-plots aplenty that introduce the reader to animal rights activism, cricket leagues and culture, and now introduced Barbara Havers new neighbors...an attractive Pakistani gentleman and his 8 year old daughter ("My mother is on vacation in Canada"). Is there a future romance for Barbara? The runup to the reveal at the end is one of the best I've read this year. Again, I had read this years ago, but didn't remember how it ended, so the pleasure was there again.

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Boston pedophia scandal handled compassionately

Revisado: 12-05-12

Any additional comments?

The pedophilia scandal in the Catholic diocese of Boston in the early part of this century is certainly one that is well known by everybody who can read or who has a TV set. Jennifer Haigh uses this setting to present us with a story of a family, the McGanns, steeped in the traditions and superstitions and faith of the Boston Irish Catholics of that period.  Haigh has the daughter Sheila tell the story.  Fr. Art Breen,  the oldest son, is accused of pedophilia by a single mom whom he has befriended.  Mike, the younger brother who had been a cop for awhile, assumes his half brother is guilty.  Their mother refuses to believe the accusations, and although the newspapers jump right in, the church refuses to discuss it, Art refuses to hire a lawyer, and it is Sheila who decides she must determine the truth of what really happened.  It is her quest for the truth that allows us to see how different versions of "Faith" can exist on so many different levels.
This is a book that has many stories:

There's the Irish Catholic Boston pedophilia story.
There's the story of priestly vocations - what is it that draws men to this way of life?  How do they live their lives of quiet loneliness?  What kind of training do they get to handle those difficulties?
There's the family story:  how does the mother relate to her adult children? How does the sister reconcile her feelings for the brothers? What impact does this scandal have on the other brother's marriage?
There's  passion play of characters in addition to the immediate family.  The accuser, the supposed victim, the various clerics and officials all contribute to the dynamics of belief, guilt, secret-keeping, forgiveness, and redemption that are the story's hallmark. 


I found the device of using the sister to narrate and drive the story a bit confusing at first, but can't imagine a better way to bring all the divergent views and motivations together.  Therese Plummer does a spot-on job as a narrator in  giving us the Boston Catholic viewpoint and accent. This is a story written compassionately, and with great insight into the many aspects of events that happen when such an accusation is flung into the air.  Jennifer Haigh gives us a caring and sensitive look at the Catholic Church and its struggles over the past decades - going back to Vatican II and working forward.  She gives excellent explanations of rituals, traditions, and a way of life that will be familiar to those who have lived it, and understandable to those looking in from the outside.

What she discovers, and what she does with the information is best omitted here to avoid spoilers. It's a remarkable book that treats a very distasteful subject with objectivity, understanding, and empathy, while allowing the reader to process it from his or her own perspective.  Well worth the read.

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Aurora keeps getting better!

Revisado: 09-02-12

What made the experience of listening to Poppy Done to Death the most enjoyable?

I'm often rather harsh in my assessments of amateur detectives, but Aurora Teagarden doesn't get any flying arrows from me.  I love this character.  First of all she's a librarian. She's bright, she's funny, she's mature, and she's smart enough to know when to involve the professionals.
n this latest episode of the series, Roe as she's known, discovers the murdered body of her step-sister-in-law Poppy when Ms. P misses her induction into the Uppity Women club; that same day she accepts custody of her runaway 15 yr old half-brother Phillip, who arrives unannounced for Thanksgiving (she thought he was in California); she confronts her own feelings about parenting, extra-marital sex, and her current relationship to Robin Crusoe the author, all while trying to figure out why Poppy was murdered, and then why Poppy's house was trashed AFTER the police finished investigating the crime scene.

All the regulars are there, with new and introspective insights into their characters and motivations. It's an easy cozy read, but has plenty of meat to the plot.I didn't have that AHA moment until nearly the end, and that's the way I enjoy mysteries --- the plot building to a surprise ending, lots of suspects being ruled in/out one at a time.

What about Therese Plummer’s performance did you like?

It was very easy to distinguish the characters from her inflections and accents.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending.

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