Secret Sins

Callie Anson #2

by Kate Charles

"...no one does the British novel of crime and manners so well."―DEBORAH CROMBIE, New York Times bestselling author Life isn't easy for curate Callie Anson, but it's definitely interesting. Her relationship with policeman Marco Lombardi is growing warmer, although he seems to be keeping her at arms length from his close Italian family. Then her brother Peter―beloved and engaging as he is―gets a bit too close for comfort when he moves into her London flat. Callie faces professional challenges as well. Morag Hamilton, a new parishioner, is worried about her granddaughter Alex―a lonely and isolated twelve-year-old with a work-obsessed father and a self-absorbed stepmother. Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Neville Stewart is dealing with Rachel Norton, a pregnant young woman whose husband Trevor went out jogging along the Paddington canal and never returned. Just when Neville thinks he's solved it, someone else goes young Alex Hamilton.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, British Literature

364 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cozy-thats-not-a-cozy is the way I'd describe one of Charles' books - the mystery isn't the most important thing, the characters are. Yet the aura of silliness that one often finds in the cozy subgenre isn't there. I'm so glad she's still writing!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I found this book disappointing. It is more of a soap opera than a mystery; the actual investigations take second place to all the separate threads of various characters' romantic and personal troubles. Most of the book feels scattered as it jumps frequently (multiple times per chapter) between different seemingly unrelated threads; they finally mostly come together towards the end. I found most of the characters quite annoying with petty, stereotyped, and flat behaviors, thoughts and issues. At the same time, I couldn't put the book down as I was eager to get through it and see the resolutions. Overall I do not recommend and do not feel drawn to read more in the series or by this author.

[Nicola Royan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Kate Charles’ novels, and this one is well plotted and convincingly set up. The happenstance of FriendsReunited is nicely
Done.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another enjoyable mystery, set in the Church of England.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really 3½ stars. I really enjoyed this book, couldn't put it down, read until 3:45 a.m. Callie Anson is a curate in an English church, and her boyfriend is a policeman. The first police case is a man who is killed while jogging, leaving a wife who is about to deliver their first child. The second case is a missing 12 yr. old, who, as it turns out, is the granddaughter of a new parishioner whom Callie has befriended. The characters are good and strong. The plot is reasonable except for all the posturing among grown people who like/love each other: "Should I take a non-Italian girl home to meet my family?" "He didn't call. Does that mean that he doesn't want to see me anymore?" "Why won't she return my e-mail?" That sort of thing. Maybe it's just for filler. Anyway, these two plot stories were enough to bring forth a decent novel, one that is certainly worthy of a long afternoon's read. I don't recommend staying up all night reading, the way I did. My presence was required earlier than usual the next morning, and I was left dragging.

One thing that I find off-putting, though, is the curate's and the rector's wife's relationship to the church. I have been a clergy wife for 35 yrs., and I've never known clergy and family who acted quite like this. The author has been "involved" in the church, but isn't clergy herself, and I think she has a rather exaulted, rose-tinted view of the clergy.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed Callie #1 in series. Hope I enjoy #3. I hope she wrote Silent Sins as a transition book to get us into some of the events and decisions to be made by the characters in the future. Will the curate ever get to the restaurant for the special dinner? Will Neville ever see his way clear to pick up the phone? What about the chaplain at the hospital?

One story line was partially completed. The second was left hanging.

Hope for the future.

[Julie Golding Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by American Anglophile (and now British resident) Kate Charles. The second instalment of the story line starring Anglican deacon and curate Callie Anson and love interest Marco Lombardi, a policeman.

[Leslie Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

About a 3.5. I always enjoy her books but some of the people make me so mad I want to yell at them. The best lack all conviction. . . Good plot here, a murder, a runaway child, relationship problems.

[Sharon]

reviewed by Times-Dispatch; second novel featuring Callie Anson, the curate of an Anglican church in London

for anglophiles?

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellenat! This is Number 2 in the series.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ins and outs of the personal relationships are more interesting than the mystery and it is that which makes me interested in the last of the series.

[Lucy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book in the series, the characters are warming up nicely, with my favourite ones returning from the previous one. I just hope the series stays good!

[Nrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

It rattles along with a generous attitude to its characters.

[Jenna Clare · Rating 2 out of 5]

Readable but a bit underwhelming. I have nothing more to say!