Who's Sorry Now?

Grace & Favor #6

by Jill Churchill

Sister and brother Lily and Robert Brewster may not have a penny to their names, but at least they're in good company––times couldn't be tougher in the Hudson River Valley during the Great Depression, and even the much–revered Chief of Police has lost his home. Their poor town has been stripped of its Post Office, too; now mail gets dumped off the trains steaming up the Hudson River, and people have to rummage through the bags to find their letters and packages. When Robert helps a young widow and her newly–arrived German grandfather haul the old man's trunks to his granddaughter's shop, he thinks he may have found a new set of friends––especially the kind train porter who helps them out. But when a red swastika is found painted on the widow's shop window, and the train porter is found dead, Robert knows that something much deeper, and much darker, is happening in his sleepy little town. Even back at Grace & Favor Mansion, where Lily and Robert live, things are falling apart. The Chief of Police has just unearthed a very, very old skeleton––right on the grounds! Could the two murders be related? It's up to Lily and Robert to find out the truth, before their quiet community is town apart by hatred, secrets, and a killer who may have set his sights on Grace & Favor...

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Cozy, Historical, Audiobook

251 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

A pseudonym used by Janice Young Brooks.

Jill Churchill, winner of the Agatha and Macavity Mystery Readers Awards, and nominated for an Anthony for her best-selling Jane Jeffry series, lives as Jane does, in a midwestern suburb. On purpose! She says writing this series and the Grace and Favor series is the best treat she can have without a knife and fork.

Under her real name, Janice Young Brooks, and various pseudonyms, she's written historical novels, a gothic novel, and a history textbook as well as many articles for newspapers and magazines. When she's not writing, she's avidly doing genealogy which she says is a lot like mysteries with all the red herrings, clues, speculations, and surprises.

She gardens enthusiastically, needlepoints superbly, and plays a mean game of gin against the computer. She has a son and daughter and two granddaughters, Rose Louise and Emma. Janice is currently in a battle of supremacy with her cat Max.

Reviews

[Peggy · Rating 1 out of 5]

A few years ago, I read every Jill Churchill book I could find from both the Grace and Favor series and the Jane Jeffry series. I enjoyed them all. So I was pleased to find this one at the library. I was very disappointed. I felt I was reading a child's fiction book that had yet to be edited. Sentences were short and choppy. At time dialogue exchanges seemed strained, forced and clipped--not how a real conversation would sound. The plot was many layered. I kept waiting to find all the events tied together, but alas that also failed. Why enter the finding of an Indian skeleton on Grace and Favor property and never mention it again? And what's the significance of the false books full of money in the library?
The real plot seemed to be the developing of the mail sorting center at the train station. The crimes and their investigation were subplots. Even the end of the book was a let down. The final sentence was "Keep your eyes open for a candy store." This was because the Deputy wanted to get a thank you gift for a hardly mentioned nurse. Weird.

[Connie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have been a Grace & Favor fan from the series start, and was thrilled to see this new book on the shelves. That thrill didn't last. The series is supposed to be of a simpler time, but this story's dialogue is painfully simplistic while the plot is confused, disjointed, and a bit far-fetched. What was the significance of the skeleton under the bush?-I didn't see any. What part did Robert and Lily (the central figures of Grace and Favor) contribute to the conclusion of the story?-I saw none. And what of the books in the library?-I don't believe it.
As I forced myself to finish the book I had the distinct feeling that the author had an assignment (was under contract) to write about 250 pages and the content was not necessarily important. So like many of us did while in high school, she wrote a lower quality story, but satisfied the assignment by achieving the required story length. I've never expected this genre of novel to be Pulitzer-qualifying, but I expect to be entertained.

[Leslee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is probably the most terrible book I have ever read. I honestly thought while I was listening (it was an audiobook) that this was actually a children's book because the writing was so lame. It's allegedly a "mystery" but 3/4 of the book is spent describing the process of getting mail boxes in a Depression era town in New York state. Ugh.

[Mayda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily doesn’t figure much in this installment, and even Robert’s contribution is small. The character the story dwells on most is the sheriff. Robert decides the community needs some type of post office boxes for mail to keep nosy biddies from snooping through the bags that hold everyone’s mail. Meanwhile, the persecution of a newly arrived tailor from Germany, and the murder of a well-liked man keep the sheriff and his new deputy busy gathering evidence. It’s a short mystery, but still an intriguing one, set in the 1930’s. Compared to today’s standard for thrillers and murder mysteries, it’s a much gentler but still entertaining tale.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leuk om te lezen. Goed verhaal van een serie van boeken. Niet mijn genre dus ga ook niet meer lezen. Maar een boek was vermakelijk.

[Anne Hawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This time the mystery centers on a German/American who seems to be targeted for some hate crimes. Robert and Lily are involved along with their good friend, the young Sheriff. Suddenly an out of luck railroad worker is killed just when Robert has gotten him a job sorting mail. There doesn't seem to be anyone around who would wish to do him harm. Eventually, after meeting a number of new characters, the murder is solved.

There are all these young marriageable characters, but none of them seem to be pairing off. We keep getting hints that some of these folks care for each other, but from book to book, there doesn't seem to be much progression. There are a lot of quirky characters who could be developed more, but at this point, they are still too lightly drawn. I hope the author can flesh them out more in later books.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've heard that Jill Churchill is a really good writer, so I picked up this book, but I was disappointed. I can't even figure out what the title of the book has to do with the content. Most of the book was about Robert trying to get some postal boxes in the town--not really the most exciting thing I've ever read. They find a skeleton under the bushes in their yard, but that really has nothing to do with anything and is just the skeleton of some Indian girl who has been dead for many, many years. Somebody is murdered, but he's a very minor character, and finding the murderer seemed anti-climatic. I also wonder why Robert and Lily don't work. They don't seem to be rich, yet neither of them have a job but seem to plan to sit around their house for 10 years doing nothing. Maybe if I'd started reading this series with the first book, I would have liked it better.

[Patti · Rating 2 out of 5]

This entry in Churchill's Grace & Favor series was disappointing to me. It barely included the main characters of the series, focusing instead on the local chief of police and his new deputy solving a murder, and an attempted murder. I read this series because of Lily Brewster and her brother Robert, but they've been featured less and less as the series went on. There is a new title scheduled for 2009, but I'm not sure I'll read it.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with her other series, her other story lines sometimes displaces the murder story line. The difference here is I like the characters in this series a lot more than the other series. Even though the series is based on a brother and sister, this book put them more in the background this time.

I'll probably read the next of this series, when it comes out.

[Marty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Voorburg is a small town in the Hudson River Valley not too far from New York City. In the middle of the Great Depression (1930s) it was a quiet town with only a police chief and one deputy. The townspeople were honest hardworking types. It was too small to have its own post office and the mail was just left at the railroad station and people would sort out their own mail. When someone saw three of the town’s matrons going through the mail and making comments on who was getting mail from whom, Robert decided that they needed a place where mail could be sorted and kept private. As they worked out how to do this, the quiet hardworking railroad clerk was murdered. How could something like that happen in such a nice town? Could the police chief find the culprit without loosing his calm, thoughtful manner? – Of course, yes. And no one got too angry or upset. ………. The whole story was just “too goody two shoes” for me. It was written in the same plodding style you might read in a 1930s magazine written for your grandmother. There was no excitement or thrill or even shouting in the book

[Bookworm's Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my very first murder mystery adult novel this was a really great story. I couldn't put the book down, I was hooked from the first chapter and the characters were very relatable. I know people that reminded me of these characters, and that was pretty intriguing to me. We get a historical look at what the great depression looked like in the U.S. as well as WW2 in this novel- It is a fictional book - but I really feel that Jill captured what is was like to live during those scary times. The murders were done tactfully which I loved, Jill left a lot to the imagination and I like that a lot. Over all I couldn't put this book down. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, trying to figure out who did it, and I guessed completely wrong lol. If you are getting into adult murder mystery books and you aren't sure where to start and what author to go with for the first time- go with Jill Churchill. She is amazing and you won't be sorry- you will get engrossed in the story.

[Rachel Lapidow · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very disappointing mystery. When I saw that Churchill had received the Agatha Award, I was hopeful that I would find a book that took inspiration from Agatha Christie. Instead, the main characters have nothing to do with solving either the murder or the vandalism (in fact, the sister doesn't even hear about the murder until many days later, a fact that seemed incredible given that she now lives in a house where the town sheriff rents a room). The discovery of the skeleton in the garden seems like a plot that is entirely divorced from the rest of the story. I also found that a lot of the dialogue came across as slightly stilted and featured far too much exposition.

[Tommie Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This listing should be called Who's Happy Now. Thought I would never find this final book in the Grace and Favor mystery series. However, I went to my favorite resale store (Heart and Hand--assists homeless women and children) and they had two Jill Churchill mysteries, Merchant of Mischief and Who's Sorry Now. I think I know how this happened. I had stumbled onto a couple of the Grace and Favor hardbacks and was donating the paperbacks for them to resell, and I think I put this one in by accident. Regardless, I found it. It is a pretty good story with multiple plot lines. I wish there was more to the series.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a murder mystery but there didn't seem to be much detecting done. Much of the book is spent describing how the little town is going to set up a room at the train station to sort the mail dropped off daily by train. The official post office has been closed. Then a body is found under some bushes at the Grace and Favor boarding house owned by the siblings Robert and Lily Brewster, but that is a short0lived plot device. Then there is a murder and a hate crime that has the local sheriff baffled for over a month before he gets one clue that solves it instantly. It wasn't all bad, but it could have been written much better, I think.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed this series set just after the Great Depression. It’s hard for me to imagine what life was like in this time when my grand parents would have been the ages of Lily and Robert, the young people in these books. It was interesting to read about how people seemed to look after their neighbors. Something I believe happened more in that era than it does today.

The last chapter seems a bit rushed with a somewhat abrupt ending to the book and apparently to the series. As far as I can tell, no book seven was printed in the series.

[Jill · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a bit like reading a comic strip with no art. It had none of the charm of the earlier novels in the series and was just a bunch of dialogue furthering the plot. I even realized that what I thought had been Foreshadowing relationships in earlier novels was just poor descriptions of characters. Lily was kept in a room reading this whole time about archaeology which she doesn’t even think she’ll pursue so why? And what happened to the Native American they dug up early on? Okay I’ve talked myself into giving this one star.

[Pat McGhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved this series and wish there were more. I love immersing myself back into the times of the 1930's and the ways of daily life. And I've loved the ingenuity of Lily and her brother Robert as they tackled losing their money and status during the stockmarket crash. As they rebuild a life with a quirky inheritance, fun relationships within their new community grow as does the size of their household. Each book on the series has a fresh mystery that is fun to see evolve as the brother/sister combo grow in their personal skills from their previously frivolous lives.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoever wrote the publisher's blurb seems out of contact with the book. The police chief chose to move for one thing. The multiple plot lines seemed a tad over ambitious, but each is interesting. There is the management of the mail where there is no post office and the solution found, episodes of irrational ethnic hatred, a murder, and the discovery of a body more than a hundred years old. Plus, there are twists and surprises that make it a really interesting read.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decently written mystery. The characters could have been better developed, and the dialogue could have been a lot less simplistic. However, for being part of a series, I found that the book stood on its own well. Personally, I felt that the plot was a bit disjointed and that the skeleton in the garden could have been left out, leaving the story complete with the current murder of one of the townspeople .

[Mysteryfan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a huge fan of Jill Churchill's books up for a long time, but stopped reading them. I thought she'd stopped writing. I saw this and picked it up. Not the greatest, but I might look for the others I haven't read. There's an odd side-story about a skeleton under a bush that has nothing to do with the main plot. Lily and Robert play smaller roles in this book.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily and Robert get in the middle of an alleged hate crime and the murder of a kindly train porter. The local policeman is having problems with the two cases. He gets a new deputy who is very helpful in solving the cases.

[AnnieM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do have to say I like this series ever so very much. Not deep, but enjoyable.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this book. It seemed rushed in the end and the next book in the series still hasn't been published. Too much left hanging with no closure in sight.

[Nan Wicker · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed whole series interesting history cozy

[Jamielyn M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like a elementary school book. Would probably make a good hallmark movie.

[Christine Fulton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little slow and a quick finish.

[Jacquie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first book of this series that I have read and it will definitely be the last. It was all ridiculous, extraneous detail and very little plot. Perhaps the other books in the series are better but I have no interest in finding out. The writing was on the level of "juvenile fiction". I am sorry now that I didn't put this book down sooner.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this was a nice little mystery. I was a little disappointed at the end that they didn’t ask the murderer more questions on why he did what he did…

[Libraryassistant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe a less successful mystery than some in this series, but the feel of the time period and the fun, growing, cast of characters makes this still worth reading. 3.5 stars

[Velma Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice easy read