Sidney Chambers and the Perils of the Night (Grantchester, 2) - Softcover

Runcie, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1608199517 ISBN 13: 9781608199518

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA, 2013

Synopsis

The second book in The Grantchester Mystery Series, and the inspiration for the primetime PBS/Masterpiece television series, Grantchester.

The loveable full time priest and part time detective Canon Sidney Chambers continues his sleuthing adventures in late 1950's Cambridge.

Accompanied by his faithful Labrador Dickens, and working in tandem with the increasingly exasperated Inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney is called on to investigate the unexpected fall of a Cambridge don from the roof of King's College Chapel; a case of arson at a glamor photographer's studio; and the poisoning of Zafar Ali, Grantchester's finest spin bowler, in the middle of a crucial game of cricket. As he pursues his quietly probing inquiries, Sidney also has to decide on the vexed question of marriage. Can he choose between the rich, glamorous socialite Amanda Kendall and Hildegard Staunton, a beguiling German widow three years his junior? To help him make up his mind Sidney takes a trip abroad, only to find himself trapped in a complex web of international espionage just as the Berlin Wall is going up.

Here are six interlocking adventures that combine mystery with morality, and criminality with charm.

About this title

About the Author

James Runcie is the son of the Arhcbishop of Canterbury, as well as Director of the Bath Literary Festival and author of four novels, The Discovery of Chocolate, The Colour of Heaven, Canvey Island and East Fortune. He is also an award-winning film-maker and theatre director and has scripted several films for BBC Television. He directed a documentary following a year in the life of J.K. Rowling. James Runcie lives in Edinburgh with his wife and two daughters.

His website is www.grantchestermysteries.com

Review

Runcie is emerging as Grantchester's answer to Alexander McCall Smith. The book brings a dollop of Midsomer Murders to the Church of England, together with a literate charm of its own: civilized entertainment, with dog-collars * Spectator * The clerical milieu is well rendered as an affectionate eye is cast over post-war England - a perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimm's * Guardian * The series has a charming quaintness and deftly turning plot twists but what renders it unique as detective fiction is its overtly Christian content -- Arifa Akbar * Independent * Totally English, beautifully written, perfectly in period and wryly funny. More, please! -- Leslie Geddes Brown * Country Life * It takes a first-class writer to put together a convincing storyline for such unlikely circumstances. James Runcie does it admirably ... He is a good man in an imperfect world and we should welcome him to the ranks of classic detectives * Daily Mail *

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1608199517
• ISBN 13: 9781608199518
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368