Rating: 
Summary: This is a WONDERFUL book....
Review: "Love for Sale" is the 4th book in the "Grace and Favor" Mystery Series by Jill Churchill and it is WONDERFUL. Frankly, after reading the Amazon reviews I was hesitant to buy the book. But I had enjoyed the first three books of the series so much that I took a chance and I am very glad that I did. I reread the first three books before continuing with this book and it didn't skip a beat. I am amazed at Ms. Churchill's ability to portray her characters of Lily and her brother, Robert Brewster as they are evolving and maturing. Robert is NOT as flighty as he was when younger. They are in the midst of the Depression, poverty is rampant and Americans are worried about the fate of their Nation and he is gaining some maturity.
One of my favorite scenes is when Robert drives "Voters for Roosevelt" to the polls in his Duesie when he didn't even VOTE in the previous election! There is plenty of excitement in the book as a group of mysterious guests arrive at the mansion for a few days. A murder ensues and the plot thickens. "Love for Sale" also brings a new boarder and a few more husbands die. Readers MAY have been disappointed by the book because due to the title, they may have been expecting a big romance for Lily or Robert. (Lily DOES need to have some romance soon and hopefully with a new man who is from a similar background.) The book does alternate between several characters, but to me it just makes them multi-faceted and doesn't focus on just one or two individuals. I LOVE these characters and this town. I enjoy how they are maturing and how Churchill so expertly weaves historical facts into the plot. Her dialogue is amazing and so believable. Don't expect a deep romance and I think that you will find that "Love for Sale" is Churchill at her finest.
Rating:
Summary: This is a WONDERFUL book....
Review: "Love for Sale" is the 4th book in the "Grace and Favor" Mystery Series by Jill Churchill and it is WONDERFUL. Frankly, after reading the Amazon reviews I was hesitant to buy the book. But I had enjoyed the first three books of the series so much that I took a chance and I am very glad that I did. I reread the first three books before continuing with this book and it didn't skip a beat. I am amazed at Ms. Churchill's ability to portray her characters of Lily and her brother, Robert Brewster as they are evolving and maturing. Robert is NOT as flighty as he was when younger. They are in the midst of the Depression, poverty is rampant and Americans are worried about the fate of their Nation and he is gaining some maturity.
One of my favorite scenes is when Robert drives "Voters for Roosevelt" to the polls in his Duesie when he didn't even VOTE in the previous election! There is plenty of excitement in the book as a group of mysterious guests arrive at the mansion for a few days. A murder ensues and the plot thickens. "Love for Sale" also brings a new boarder and a few more husbands die. Readers MAY have been disappointed by the book because due to the title, they may have been expecting a big romance for Lily or Robert. (Lily DOES need to have some romance soon and hopefully with a new man who is from a similar background.) The book does alternate between several characters, but to me it just makes them multi-faceted and doesn't focus on just one or two individuals. I LOVE these characters and this town. I enjoy how they are maturing and how Churchill so expertly weaves historical facts into the plot. Her dialogue is amazing and so believable. Don't expect a deep romance and I think that you will find that "Love for Sale" is Churchill at her finest.
Rating: 
Summary: Unfinished disappointment
Review: As much as I loved the first 3 in this series, it was disappointing that this one lacked charm. Lily's lovely manners, Robert's vivacity, alot was missing. Was Jill Churchill rushed into publishing? I hope she returns to form in book 4. Books 1-3 made me feel as if I was looking into my grandmother's life during the Depression. It was fascinating, especially the way people treated each other and held themselves together. Please do more, Jill.
Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: I have been a big fan of hers since her very first novel. I was really looking for this new Grace & Favor Mystery... and it was a great book. I learned a lot about the US history from this book too (I just moved to the US recently). I started to do some research about Hoover dam myself. A great book to read for your summer vacation.
Rating: 
Summary: GRACE & FAVOR
Review: I read this book and it was okay at first but I was bored with it rather quickly. I put it down after the first two chapters.
Rating: 
Summary: Not appalling
Review: I was appalled by the the first review of this book. Love for Sale is a truly enjoyable book with a wonderful sense of period. I do agree that this not this neither the best of the series or the genre, but that doesn't mean it isn't a worthwhile read. If you're after a laugh out loud cozy, try Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymples, but if you want an amusing Depression era mytery, these are the way to go.
Rating:
Summary: Not appalling
Review: I was appalled by the the first review of this book. Love for Sale is a truly enjoyable book with a wonderful sense of period. I do agree that this not this neither the best of the series or the genre, but that doesn't mean it isn't a worthwhile read. If you're after a laugh out loud cozy, try Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymples, but if you want an amusing Depression era mytery, these are the way to go.
Rating:
Summary: more a strong 1930s fiction that contains mystery subplots
Review: In 1932 in Voorburg-on-Hudson siblings Lily and Robert Brewster recover from their sudden fall from wealth by turning the mansion they can live in for life (according to their late uncle's will) into a bed and breakfast. When an obviously masqueraded stranger leases a room for the outrageous price of $500, Lily hesitantly agrees though she suspects the worst from this individual and his cronies coming for the weekend. However, Lily misread what the worst is when someone stabs and subsequently drowns radio preacher Brother Mark Luke Goodheart in one of the B&B bathtubs. While Police Chief Walker investigates the homicide, Lily and Robert begin work as a substitute teacher temporarily replacing Millicent Langston who seems to have vanished. Meanwhile someone abducts young Joey while his mom waits for news whether her husband died while working on the Hoover Dam project. Lily being Lily cannot resist making inquiries into the murder, the misplaced teacher, and the kidnapped child. Though this is a Grace and Favor mystery, the suspense elements take a back seat to the Depression Era ambiance of the story line. Readers can feel the mood at least near the Hudson River of the change in presidential administrations from Hoover to the New York Governor Roosevelt. The intrigues tie together, but never really hook the reader as deeply as the historical perspective as LOVE FOR SALE is more a strong 1930s fiction that contains mystery subplots. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Genteel fun that's a trip back in time
Review: Ready for an escapist mystery that will take you back to a time when life was a bit more genteel? Travel back to the Depression, where in Love for Sale people actually seem to live richer lives than in the modern prosperous era. Without glamorizing the hard times of the past, this cozy mystery, starring a brother and sister team, makes us long for the days of white gloves, croquet, and milk delivered to the door.
But milk isn't all Lily and Robert Brewster find on the doorstep of the manor their late great-uncle left them. In true cozy mystery form, the unsuspecting amateur detectives discover a missing grade school teacher, uncover Road to Perdition-style mob activity as well as political conspiracy aimed at President Roosevelt's election (and you thought the President Bush-Senator Kerry grudge match was nasty), and figure out who killed Charles Pottinger (a.k.a. the radio preacher Brother Goodheart) in their very house. Seems there was more than Bible-thumping going on among the Reverend and his friends, who include the bizarre Nobby Hazard (reminiscent of Renfrew in Dracula, minus the vermin eating). Who would want to kill Brother Goodheart? How about his illegitimate son, who is tossed out as an interesting, if predictable, red herring that never goes anywhere and remains a loose end? Why do we detect the hint of a lesbian quarrel in the disappearance of the schoolteacher?
And why question any of these things? Thanks to Jill Churchill's vivid tale of a bygone era, we can enjoy genteel times again without the Depression and with the whodunit. Much grace and favor to Jill Churchill.
Rating:
Summary: Do not let the cover or title fool you.
Review: Story is set in November of 1932, during the bleak Depression. Hoover is still the President and election date (for Roosevelt) is only a weekend away. Lily and Robert Brewster, like most others of the time, did not have much money. So when a disguised stranger offers to pay very well for a single weekend use of the guest section of the house for a few business associates, they agree. But one of the guests ends up murdered in his bath. They, along with Chief of Police Howard Walker, are up to their necks in suspects! At the same time, Lily and Robert are filling in as teachers because one of the staff has disappeared and reporters are showing up everywhere! **** Excellent mystery that readers can sink their mental teeth into. The cover and title of the book are very misleading though. They look as if they belong on a romance, not a mystery. So do not judge THIS book by its cover! The story inside is wonderfully crafted and will keep readers guessing until the end draws near. Reading this novel is a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. **** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
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