Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love

Starred review from March 6, 2017
Runcie’s Grantchester Mysteries series, which opened in the 1950s, has reached the ’70s in the superior sixth entry (after 2016’s Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation). Sidney is now an archdeacon, and his daughter, Anna, is an inquisitive seven-year-old. On a quiet forest walk with Anna in the first of the book’s six sections, he stumbles on a corpse of a man who was collecting poisonous plants. Other sections involve the theft of a rare religious book and a possible fraud with respect to a painting alleged to have been created by Goya. As usual, Runcie doesn’t shy away from involving his lead in uncomfortable cases, such as one centered on acquaintance rape. Fans of the earlier volumes and the successful TV adaptations will relish the latest chapters in the lives of a richly drawn and diverse cast of characters—and shed some tears along the way. The explorations of human relationships, especially that of Sidney and his wife, Hildegard, are sophisticated and insightful. Agent: David Godwin, David Godwin Associates (U.K.).

May 1, 2017

Runcie (Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation) takes Archdeacon Sidney Chambers into the 1970s with this sixth series title. Although there are several mysteries in this book, including murder, much of the story revolves around Sidney's personal and church life. For readers who enjoyed Jan Karon's "Mitford" series for the religious and philosophical aspects.--LH

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2017
Archdeacon Sidney Chambers (Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation, 2016, etc.) is torn between his vocations as detective and as Anglican priest in six interlinked stories set amid the discontent of 1970s Britain.Two of the local hippies are killed, not entirely by accident, by their own herbal concoctions gathered in -The Bluebell Wood.- Someone embezzles from the church's collection plate, while Sidney's dear friend Amanda tries to establish the -Authenticity- of a previously unknown Goya painting she purchases at a ruinous auction price. In -Insufficient Evidence,- Sidney struggles to support his friend, journalist Helena Mitchell, when she's raped by a colleague and disbelieved by the justice system. The most traditional puzzler, -Ex Libris,- tracks the theft of a priceless medieval volume from a Cambridge library. When Sidney's teenage nephew, Louis, disappears from his home during -The Long Hot Summer,- Sidney rejects the dire possibility of suicide and instead tracks him in hopes that he's joined a political movement. Throughout these tales, Sidney's daughter, Anna, grows older, while his wife, Hildegard, draws closer to her musical friend, Rolfe--and possibly farther from Sidney. Finally, personal tragedy comes to Sidney himself and shakes him to his core, but he still believes in -The Persistence of Love.- Fans of the series may appreciate the continuing tales of beloved characters, thick with references to previous adventures and tragedies, but newcomers will be left out in the cold.

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March 15, 2017
Love is at the center of each of these six episodes, spanning five and a half years in the 1970s, as Archdeacon Sidney Chambers continues pastoral duties as well as sleuthing. This side activity, most often undertaken with his close friend, Inspector Geordie Keating, leaves Chambers' wife, Hildegard, to develop a strong friendship with a fellow German, musician Rolfe von Arnim, a relationship that leaves the archdeacon jealous despite it paralleling his friendship with former flame Amanda Richmond. In the course of this fourth in the series, Chambers solves two murders that were motivated by love, tracks down his runaway teen nephew, supports Amanda in a dicey art scheme, stays at the side of another woman friend who makes a rape charge, and untangles the theft of a priceless Bible. But it's the final chapter, with its depth of emotion and compassion, that resonates most. Have tissues at the ready, because a stunning surprise signals a change in the archdeacon's life and a shaking of his faith that will leave readers longing for Runcie's next entry.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)