Someone to Watch Over Me: A Grace & Favor Mystery

Someone to Watch Over Me by Jill Churchill is the third book in her Grace and Favor series. The previous two titles, Anything Goes and In the Still of the Night were delightful mysteries and Someone to Watch Over Me is a welcome addition to this series.Set during the Depression, the once wealthy Brother and sister Lily and Robert inherit their uncle's mansion on the Hudson River. But the inheritance is predicated on the English law of Grace and Favor where they must live in the house for a period of time before they can rightfully own it. And their uncle added one more element to this inheritance in that both Lily and Robert must have jobs in the area and live only in the house before they inherit anything. The house comes with an array of interesting people who work for them in addition to some of the townspeople who quickly become part of their lives.Unfortunately, times are tough for all including Lily and Robert who few in the village know that their family was a casualty of the Depression early on and their fortune no longer exists. With both their parents now gone, they must figure out a way to make ends meet. They come up with one idea after another to bring in some much needed income while they also somehow become amateur detectives. As she did in her two previous books, Ms. Churchill presents first one murder victim and then another as Lily and Robert become entangled in solving the murder And not content to have only one main plot at work, Churchill fully explores the plight of the average person as they deal with the Depression. A most interesting part of the book is when the author describes the workers march on Washington, DC for wages as well as their living conditions in tent cities erected around this area.While I enjoyed the mystery angle of this book, which is enough to satisfy most mystery readers, it is the description of the area around the Hudson and the characters that really interest me in these books. Now once again I am waiting for the next title in this series to find out what everyone is doing and how life has been treating all of them.

Someone to Watch Over Me by Jill Churchill is the third book in Jill Churchill's Grace and Favor series. The previous two books, Anything Goes and In the Still of the Night were delightful light mysteries which introduced us to a wonderful mansion on the Hudson River occupied by wonderful characters. And now with this, her third book in the series, she continues to engage many of her readers who also remember her Jane Jeffrey mysteries.Set during the Depression, the once wealthy Lily and Robert, brother and sister, continue to occupy the home left to them, with certain stipulations, by their great uncle. Their eventual inheritance is perdicated on the English law of Grace and Favor whereby they must not only occupy the home, but also work in the community for a period of time before they inherit anything. The house comes with an array of interesting people who work for them as well as townspeople who quickly become part of their lives.But times are tough for all including Robert and Lily who are unaccustomed to worrying about money or working. Few in the village know who their parents were or the fact that they are now broke. As it happens in Churchills previous books a murder takes place which seems to occupy Robert and Lily's interest. Not only does the reader become involved with first one murder and then another, but at the same time Churchill gives us a mini Depression history lesson describing conditions as the towns local newspaperman covers thw Workers March on Washington for Wages. We become familiar with tent cities and the people who are forced to live in them as they too seek out ways of earning money and being renumerated fairly.While I enjoy the mystery angle of these books, which is enough to satisfy any reader, for me it is the description of the area surrounding the Hudson River and the characters who really interst me in these books. Now I am once again waiting for the next book in this series to find out what everybody is up to.

I enjoyed the first two books in this series, but this third one surpasses them by far. I literally felt like I was present, especially when Jack goes to Washington to interview the Bonus Marchers. It brought alive a period in history in a personal and exciting way. There are two mysteries, and while the sleuthing part of this novel is a bit weak, I didn't mind at all... because the story and characters were so compelling. I can't wait for the next addition to this series.

It's the early 1930's and struggling Lily and Robert, heirs apparent to their Great Uncle Horatio's estate AFTER they've lived there ten years are finally coming to terms with their own loss of fortune! Daunting at first, to these struggling siblings, they are now becomming involved in the community. Much to their dismay, a couple of murders along with a rash of pilfering combined with the historical event of the World War I Bonus March on Washington, interrupt Robert's plans to renovate Grace & Favor and Lily's acceptance into the local Ladies League, to make this a very, very interesting read. It's a BIG departure from Ms. Churchill's "Jane Jeffry mystery series", and I truly enjoyed every printed word.

At one time siblings Robert and Lily were card-carrying members of the idle rich, living off their father's fortune. When the stock market crashed in 1929, the duo was left destitute as their father committed suicide. Sadly, neither has a skill to earn a decent living--upper-class style, that is. However, a relative comes to the rescue by dying and leaving his vast estate to the brother and sister if they move into his mansion in Upstate New York and support themselves for the next ten years. It proves very difficult to find work in 1932, but neither sit idle. Robert finds a body on the property and is determined to find out who he was, especially since Lily's new friend Roxanne is believed to have killed her husband though no corpse has been found. Lily knows her friend did not commit any homicide and decides to prove she is right. Is amateur sleuthing acceptable under the stipulations of their inheritance? The Brewsters do not care because they believe they must do the right thing regardless. Jill Churchill has written a delightful historical cozy that captures much of the ambience of America's Great Depression. The bewitching Brewsters brood is adjusting to a radical lifestyle change while trying to help a neighbor. SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME is enjoyable: the characters are engaging, the plot strong and vibrant, and the mystery cleverly executed.Harriet Klausner