Picture You Dead (Roy Grace #18)
8.0
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Harry and Freya, an ordinary couple, dreamed for years of finding something priceless buried amongst...
Secrets in the Stacks
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After an ominous Tarot reading, Sedona bookstore owner Rarity Cole must find a killer to keep her...
No Less The Devil
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'We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.' It's been seventeen months since...
What the Cluck? It’s Murder
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A broody hen. A dead body. The ultimate test of a relationship. Pet psychic Frankie Chandler...
The Dead of Winter
9.0
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It was supposed to be an easy job. All Detective Constable Edward Reekie had to do was pick up a...
Dean (6927 KP) rated Vertigo (1958) in Movies
Apr 3, 2022
A former Detective is asked to spy on an old friends wife and keep track of her. Leading to obsession and a tragic event.
The first two thirds of the film are very slow and rather uneventful as James Stewart follows Madeleine wandering around town. Given an odd story by his friend to explain her behaviour, but he becomes more obsessed with her over time. The final third of the film was also a little slow getting to the reveal stage. At the time it would be a great twist but today you start to work out possible explanations quite early. The final scene also felt a bit over the top. Enjoyable to see a Hitchcock film but far from a classic for me.
The Lost Children (DCI Matilda Darke #9)
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Matilda Darke is back… APRIL 2020: LOCKDOWN With street crime at an all-time low, Matilda...
The Ruin
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Galway 1993: Young Garda Cormac Reilly is called to a scene he will never forget. Two silent,...
A Mirror Murder (Jan Christopher Mysteries #1)
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Eighteen-year-old library assistant Jan Christopher’s life is to change on a rainy Friday evening...
Cozy Mystery
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death in Books
Jul 27, 2017
In 2014, ITV broadcasted the first episode of Grantchester, a drama series based on books by British novelist, James Runcie. Although written during the twenty-first century, the story is set in the 1950s in a village on the outskirts of Cambridge. Sidney Chambers, a young Canon in charge of the Church of St Andrew and Mary, is a polite and friendly character who, despite his reluctance, ends up acting as a detective in a variety of crimes.
Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death is the first book of six in The Grantchester Mysteries. Split into six individual baffling cases, the background story of Sidney’s private life continues to develop throughout. Each crime is committed and swiftly solved by the Canon and his friend, Inspector Geordie Keating, although it is Sidney who ultimately resolves the case.
Murder, jewellery theft and art forgery and just some of the felonies Sidney grudgingly gets involved with. In fact, unresolved crimes tend to land in his lap rather than offering his assistance willingly. Up at dawn to work on sermons before rushing off to capture criminals, Sidney is never off duty.
A vicar may seem like an unlikely candidate for a detective, however, people tend to open up to him and unintentionally reveal delitescent information. Listening to suspects and witnesses without pre-judgement allows Sidney to think things through carefully rather than jumping to conclusions. From the moment the crime is committed right up until the story’s denouement, Sidney passionately does everything he can to make sure the correct culprit is discovered.
What makes this series different from other crime novels is the focus on Sidney Chambers’ own life. James Runcie emphasises the loneliness of a bachelor living in a vicarage with only a curate and crotchety housekeeper for company. Readers are drawn into Sidney’s stories and hold onto the hope that his dalliances with the beautiful Amanda turn out to be something more concrete.
Those who have watched the ITV series will be familiar with the stories in this book because the producer has stuck to the exact storyline, not missing a single thing out or adding anything extra. The fact that there were only two years between publishing and screen production goes to show how well written and thought out these stories are. Unlike famous detective novels such as Sherlock Holmes or those by Agatha Christie, The Grantchester Mysteries are not set at the time of writing, so, although they are historically accurate, the prose is suitable for present day readers.
Each story is quick to read and is easy going, making it a relaxing and enjoyable book. It is not a thriller or horror, although some of the crimes are quite terrible. Instead, it is entertaining and often humorous. It is suitable for crime fiction fans as well as those new to the genre.
Regardless of whether you have watched the television series or not, Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death is a delight to read. Of course, ITV has given away all the endings, but it is a different experience to read it in print rather than seeing it acted out on screen. Featuring the face of James Norton on the cover so as to work as a TV tie-in, the series will be easy to spot in prime position on bookshelves both in shops and personal collections.