tough_cookie's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
In the small town of Grantchester, Canon Sydney Chambers is content with living a quiet life tending to his parishioners and putting the horrors he endured from World War II behind him. However, over the course of a year, he learns even small towns can stir up big trouble. In this collection of mini mysteries, Sydney, along with help from his friend, Detective Geordie Keating, wades into various murders ranging from the daughter of a former thief-turned-jazz-club-owner to an art-collecting aristocrat. Along the way, he struggles to balance the evil of humanity with his faith, as well as contends with budding romantic feelings first for a German widow named Hildegarde, then for his sister's friend Amanda, an art curator and socialite.
This book reminded me why I don't like short story anthologies. One of my biggest complaints is the flat characters -- everyone came across as a faceless voice with only slight development to help differentiate them from the other people Sydney uses as soundboards to "solve" the mysteries, despite the pathway to his conclusions either being poorly explained or completely ignored. To me, the secondary characters made Sydney feel like an island; even his positive relationships lacked the depth necessary to make me see the strong bonds between them.
The mysteries themselves were uninteresting, as each time Sydney would hop around either Grantchester or London talking to people, then miraculously figure out who did it and tell his friend, Geordie, who took care of the arrest. The book focused less on the mysteries and more on the human aspect of the crimes -- the emotional distress, the morally gray areas, etc. And that wouldn't be such a problem for me except this book is billed as a mystery, not a drama, so with that expectation set, it failed to fulfill its promise.
Also, as a minor point of contention, I disliked how the book's synopsis made it sound like Hildegarde would play a large role in the novel.
She was hardly in it beyond the first story.
In fact, it's Amanda who takes center stage for most of the book, annoyingly so; her character was too vapid and conceited for my liking, and it wasn't clear to me what Sydney liked about her, which just added to my frustration.
This was a middle-of-the-road novel for me at best, so I won't continue reading the rest of this series.
This book reminded me why I don't like short story anthologies. One of my biggest complaints is the flat characters -- everyone came across as a faceless voice with only slight development to help differentiate them from the other people Sydney uses as soundboards to "solve" the mysteries, despite the pathway to his conclusions either being poorly explained or completely ignored. To me, the secondary characters made Sydney feel like an island; even his positive relationships lacked the depth necessary to make me see the strong bonds between them.
The mysteries themselves were uninteresting, as each time Sydney would hop around either Grantchester or London talking to people, then miraculously figure out who did it and tell his friend, Geordie, who took care of the arrest. The book focused less on the mysteries and more on the human aspect of the crimes -- the emotional distress, the morally gray areas, etc. And that wouldn't be such a problem for me except this book is billed as a mystery, not a drama, so with that expectation set, it failed to fulfill its promise.
Also, as a minor point of contention, I disliked how the book's synopsis made it sound like Hildegarde would play a large role in the novel.
She was hardly in it beyond the first story.
In fact, it's Amanda who takes center stage for most of the book, annoyingly so; her character was too vapid and conceited for my liking, and it wasn't clear to me what Sydney liked about her, which just added to my frustration.
This was a middle-of-the-road novel for me at best, so I won't continue reading the rest of this series.
lindasdarby's review against another edition
3.0
This is what I would call a cozy mystery. I especially enjoyed it in correlation with the miniseries.
12dejamoo's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm actually in love with how adorable all these characters are. Sidney is a darling, Geordie is magnificent, Leonard is the biggest sweetie. All round good vibes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Death
Minor: War and Suicide
knit_the_resistance's review
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
In this case, I liked the tv show better than the book. The books were really slow.
libdibs's review against another edition
It's been 2 months and I'm not even slightly interested in picking this up again
eparsons516's review
4.0
I just felt an immense sense of comfort reading this—it felt like watching the show. Found it interesting some of the things they changed for the show; also liked that I didn’t recognize some of the stories since I saw the show first—really only knew the ending to the first one. Also I was worried that I’d automatically not like the book as much simply because I love the mini series so much, but this was just as good
booklover1974's review against another edition
4.0
A cost mystery that transports you to a small, English village. Apparently this series is now a tv series on BBC.
foreverday's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5
This was an enjoyable enough collection of short mystery stories. I enjoyed how each chapter was a different case and you could therefore dip into it, read one chapter, reach that chapter's conclusion and then be able to stop and go to bed/be productive (and yet there were some common threads that meant the collection didn't feel completely disconnected). I also enjoyed the setting, although that was mostly when I was able to go "I've been there/know exactly what he's talking about with the reference to that". The characters were also enjoyable- I haven't read that many books in which the main character is a Vicar and Sidney was v nice.
However, I would also say that being a Vicar didn't seem terribly conducive to being a detective. When the characters asked "Erm, excuse me random man in a dog collar, what are you doing asking me about murder??" I was inclined to agree with them. He didn't seem to have any skills that led him to becoming a particularly skilled detective, and he seemed to just stumble into both problem and solution. It felt a little bit as if it had seemed like a very novel concept --"A detective... yet also Vicar!!"-- and it had just been run with, and it not entirely practically worked out.
I'd like to see what happens to the characters, and it was an enjoyable enough as a read, yet not the best detective novel I've read.
This was an enjoyable enough collection of short mystery stories. I enjoyed how each chapter was a different case and you could therefore dip into it, read one chapter, reach that chapter's conclusion and then be able to stop and go to bed/be productive (and yet there were some common threads that meant the collection didn't feel completely disconnected). I also enjoyed the setting, although that was mostly when I was able to go "I've been there/know exactly what he's talking about with the reference to that". The characters were also enjoyable- I haven't read that many books in which the main character is a Vicar and Sidney was v nice.
However, I would also say that being a Vicar didn't seem terribly conducive to being a detective. When the characters asked "Erm, excuse me random man in a dog collar, what are you doing asking me about murder??" I was inclined to agree with them. He didn't seem to have any skills that led him to becoming a particularly skilled detective, and he seemed to just stumble into both problem and solution. It felt a little bit as if it had seemed like a very novel concept --"A detective... yet also Vicar!!"-- and it had just been run with, and it not entirely practically worked out.
I'd like to see what happens to the characters, and it was an enjoyable enough as a read, yet not the best detective novel I've read.
smemmott's review against another edition
2.0
Adequate. It was interesting to see how the book differed from the show (Grantchester) and I enjoyed the format of a semi-connected series of simpler mysteries. I doubt I would have ever picked it up, and most likely would not have finished it, if I hadn't seen the show. Too much dialogue and just not very compelling.
lindsayb09's review
4.0
My oppinion of this book is of course entirely biased by my love of the tv adaptation and its stellar cast. I'm not sure if the book would be as strong on its own, but since I already know the show it was more like a companion piece. I enjoyed this as a more direct look into Sidney's pov, and a chance to see his inner thoughts that aren't expressed in the show.
I didn't realize when I first started that it was a series of short mysteries; I expected the entire book to consist of one story, in great detail. I thought it would get even meatier and more detailed than the show, but alas the opposite is true. Some of the mysteries are more complex and detailed than others. Some were greatly filled out in the tv adaptation. Either way, I found them enjoyable.
I did wish there was more of Leonard and of Mrs McGuire, who both play larger roles on the show. Still, I will plan to read the rest of the series eventually, including the prequel that just came out.
I didn't realize when I first started that it was a series of short mysteries; I expected the entire book to consist of one story, in great detail. I thought it would get even meatier and more detailed than the show, but alas the opposite is true. Some of the mysteries are more complex and detailed than others. Some were greatly filled out in the tv adaptation. Either way, I found them enjoyable.
I did wish there was more of Leonard and of Mrs McGuire, who both play larger roles on the show. Still, I will plan to read the rest of the series eventually, including the prequel that just came out.