Now a major, prime-time six-part series Grantchester for ITV
James Runcie is the Head of Literature at The Southbank Centre, an award-winning film-maker and the author of five novels. Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death is the first of The Grantchester Mysteries series. He lives in London and Edinburgh. @james_runcie
No detective since Father Brown has been more engaging than Canon
Sidney Chambers. Perfect company in bed
*Salley Vickers*
Inspector Morse would appear to have a rival
*Scotland on Sunday*
A charmingly effective tale of detection ... evoking oodles of
churchy village atmosphere, circa 1953, provides a satisfyingly
old-fashioned read
*The Times*
The clerical milieu is well rendered as an affectionate eye is cast
over post-war England - a perfect accompaniment to a sunny
afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimm's
*Guardian*
James Runcie has written the coziest of cozy murder mysteries.
Taken individually, each of these clerical whodunits poses a clever
puzzle for armchair detectives. Viewed as a collective study of
British life as it was lived when Elizabeth II first ascended the
throne, these stories present a consistently charming and
occasionally cutting commentary on 'a postwar landscape full of
industry, promise and concrete
*New York Times Book Review*
An undiluted pleasure
*Scotsman*
Full of witty phrases to delight the reader ... This entertaining
first volume about Canon Chambers will have Runcie's readers
longing for the next
*Peggy Woodford, Church Times*
An evocation of a more genteel era ... Chambers turns out to be a
winning clergyman-sleuth, and Runcie's literary authority is
repeatedly demonstrated in the construction of his elegant tales.
In fact, it is the plotting that really distinguishes this
collection, and will make many more readers more than ready to
follow the God-fearing hero from the coronation of Elizabeth II in
1953 to the wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981 ... there is no
denying the winning charm of these artfully fashioned mysteries
*Independent*
Gentle criminal entertainment with a pleasantly old-fashioned feel
to it
*Spectator*
The plots are intriguing ... While the diminutive priest detective
created by G. K. Chesterton led the way, Sidney Chambers is set
fair to be a worthy successor. In a sceptical age this is quite an
achievement. Then again, the author is a son of an archbishop. And
who better to portray the sleuth in ecclesiastical clothing?
*Daily Mail*
At last, an Anglican Father Brown ... Each tale is beautifully
crafted and surprising. I hope for many more volumes
*Spectator*
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