Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation: The Grantchester Mysteries
Fans of the Grantchester Mysteries will love the fifth installment, which is set again in the little Cambridgeshire village. In the six stories that comprise this installment, Archdeacon Sidney Chambers returns in his role as full-time priest and part-time detective. Along with local policeman Detective Inspector Geordie Keating, Chambers encounters a sinister cult, an ominous case of blackmail, and the theft of an heirloom, among other mysterious occurrences. The stories take place in England in the late 1960s when the frugality of post-World War II Britain is replaced by the excesses of the swinging Sixties.
Runcie, the son of a former Archbishop of Canterbury, loosely based the Grantchester series on his father. But the books are not “tea cozy” mysteries. On his website, Runcie explains his interest in how radical changes after the war rapidly altered society. Chambers is not only dealing with social transformation; as the recipient of many secrets, he is also in the difficult position of deciding whether to respect a confidence or tell the truth. Many of the stories center on a moral dilemma – the death penalty and homosexuality are examples. In the middle, we find a man of compassion moving between the world of the spirit and flesh, “bicycling from Grantchester to Cambridge and back, attempting to love the unlovable, forgive the sinner, and to lead a decent, good life.”
Fans of the dark mysteries of Ruth Rendell and the intellectual work of P. D. James might find Grantchester a quick read that, if not “cozy,” comes close. Runcie himself admits that he writes to entertain rather than impress. There’s nothing wrong with entertaining, as the many fans of his books and television series will attest. Highly recommended.
