Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre at best
Review: This latest Grace and Favor mystery is just plain mediocre. It wasn't terrible, and I did finish it, but I cared fairly little about whodunnit or why.Churchill has a number of very likeable characters in her Depression books, but she doesn't spend enough time with any given one of them for you to think of them as a friend. In the Jane Jeffry books, nearly everything is from Jane's point of view. She's your pal in the book and carries you along. Here we spend a little time with Lily, some time with the the police chief, some time with the pretty abandoned wife... it's hard to care much about any of them. The fact that the main mystery is solved by accident and a minor one is totally left hanging in midair is quite disappointing. The whole book feels low on energy.
Rating: 
Summary: Apalling
Review: What is is with all these formerly witty and entertaining cozy/mystery series that have suddenly become unredeemably drab, boring and awful? On the eve of the 1932 Presidential election, a group of strangers, one of them in disguise, shows up at Grace and Favor, offering wads of cash and demanding absolute privacy. Of course, one of them ends up murdered and the murder must be solved. I can't begin to describe how terrible this book is. It reads like an outline, and not a very interesting one at that. There is no characterization and no atmosphere. Quite a few words are wasted on matters that have no importance and details that have no relevance. Long, dull paragraphs of factual background might have been copied verbatim from the encylopaedia. Despite numerous red herrings the solution is painfully obvious, and the red herrings themselves are boring and pointless. Events that are referred to in the book jacket never happen at all. A third grader could have come up with a better story and told it with more colour. I have two words for anyone thinking of reading _Love for Sale_: Don't bother.
Rating: 
Summary: Mysterious murder at Grace and Favor
Review: When sister and brother Lily and Robert Brewster were destitute, they found out they inherited their uncle's home, but not without some strange caveats. One is that they must live in the home for ten years and can only be gone two weeks per year. So, while they are no longer destitute, they find they must make some additional money. Renting rooms in their home has brought in good money and they have many some friends.
They are approached to rent out rooms for a weekend to unknown men. At first they are concerned they might be gangsters. They finally decide that since they are willing to pay generously, they will let them stay.
Lily and Robert have been asked to co-teach at the local school in the absence of one of the teachers. She is out on medical leave, or so it is thought. The extra income from this is welcomed and they enjoy the children as well.
When the mysterious guests arrive, they request to not be disturbed and to have their meals left on trays outside the door. While this is unusual, it is agreed to.
The next morning one of the mystery guests is found murdered. Chief Howard Walker can't find anyplace to house the suspects but the local Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
Also this day, a little boy is kidnapped from his yard. Mr. Prinney, the Brewster's attorney, is trying to help the little boy's mother determine if the letter she received that her husband, working on the dam, is truly dead. Chief Walker can't figure out why the boy would be kidnapped.
Lily assists Chief Walker in interviewing some women who had associated with the mysterious guest who died. Through her many contacts, Lily begins to put two and two together. There is a wild car chase with three women drivers before everything is uncovered.
I really like this series. Most series set back in time don't hold my interest, but the characters and setting are so well written. I always look forward to reading another adventure with Lily and Robert. The story is well constructed and keeps moving at a good pace. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointing non-mystery
Review: Yes, the feel of the 1930's is here, what with the election of FDR on the horizon, and the influence of the building of Hoover Dam integral to the life of at least one citizen of Voorburg. But, really, this short read is boring and untypical of Jill Churchill's earlier entries in the Grace and Favor series. I am sorely disappointed. Where is the mystery? Lost in the midst of a wandering story line. The suspense? Minimal. My suggestion is: don't waste the money. And my hope is that Churchill's next novel in this line will be up to the level of her first two books. I read it, but I put it down many times, and found the conclusion to be quite anti-climatic! Don't bother!
Rating:
Summary: A disappointing non-mystery
Review: Yes, the feel of the 1930's is here, what with the election of FDR on the horizon, and the influence of the building of Hoover Dam integral to the life of at least one citizen of Voorburg. But, really, this short read is boring and untypical of Jill Churchill's earlier entries in the Grace and Favor series. I am sorely disappointed. Where is the mystery? Lost in the midst of a wandering story line. The suspense? Minimal. My suggestion is: don't waste the money. And my hope is that Churchill's next novel in this line will be up to the level of her first two books. I read it, but I put it down many times, and found the conclusion to be quite anti-climatic! Don't bother!
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