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Though her picture shows her to be considerably younger than one who grew up during the Depression, Jill Churchill portrays that era with sympathy, depth, and accuracy (at least according to the tales my parents told me). Lily and Robert Baxter have been left their home, Grace and Favor, by a great uncle, with the proviso that they live there for ten years and make their own livings. While digging in their front yard, Robert, sister Lily, and construction workers unearth the body of a young Indian woman, dead for many years. Not much is made of this discovery, except to inspire Lily with an interest in archeology. A major thread of the plot begins when Robert, visiting the train station, spies three old women looking through the mail, one saying that the recipient would be better off without her letter. This inspires Robert, in what turns out to be a major plot, to organize a drive for a sorting station, where mail would be hidden from prying eyes. Unfortunately, the hapless train station attendant is strangled. Most poignant is the tale of master tailor, Mr Kuntz, recently arrived in the community, having barely escaped the Nazis, but who is scapegoated because he is German. An attempt is made to burn his store down, with him inside, but it fails. Another attack is the burning of books in front of his shop, books written in German and checked out of area libraries. The burning is foiled by a fortuitous rain storm. Lily takes a back seat in this entry in the Grace and Favor series. Robert, a very endearing character, is mostly tied up with his drive for the sorting station and is only marginally involved in the murder. The most vivid character is the new deputy Parker, who was given a most reluctant recommendation from his previous post, but who turns out to be a hero. Churchill has written more engrossing mysteries, but, if you have any interest in Depression era America, this book is well worth reading.
Reviewed by Mary Elizabeth Devine, January 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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