Book Review: Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love by James Runcie

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge,from Bloomsbury USA via netgalley for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it,  all opinions are my own.

And now a book for the adults!

If you are a huge Fan (hand raised!!) of the PBS series Grantchester,
 then you will WANT to read this book!

Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love  cover

Synopsis:

The eagerly anticipated sixth installment in the Grantchester Mysteries series!
The sixth book in the James Runcie's much-loved Granchester Mystery series, which has been adapted for Masterpiece's Grantchester starring James Norton, sees full-time priest, part-time detective Sidney Chambers plunged back into sleuthing when he discovers a body in a bluebell wood.
It is May 1971 and the Cambridgeshire countryside is bursting into summer. Attending to his paternal duties, Archdeacon Sidney Chambers is walking in the woods with his daughter Anna and their aging Labrador, Byron, when they stumble upon a body. Beside the dead man lies a basket of wild flowers, all poisonous. And so it is that Sidney is thrust into another murder investigation, entering a world of hippies, folk singers, and psychedelic plants, where love triangles and permissive behavior seem to hide something darker.
Despite the tranquil appearance of the Diocese of Ely, there is much to keep Sidney and his old friend, Detective Inspector Geordie Keating, as busy as ever. An historic religious text vanishes from a Cambridge college; Sidney's former flame, Amanda Richmond, gets a whiff of art-world corruption; and his nephew disappears in the long, hot summer of 1976.
Meanwhile, Sidney comes face to face with the divine mysteries of life and love while wrestling with earthly problems--from parish scandals and an alarmingly progressive new secretary to his own domestic misdemeanors, the challenges of parenthood and a great loss.

Review:
In many ways this is a perfect pre-Easter book for adults, especially those who are fans of the series. The book takes place YEARS after the events on the show, so the first chapter can be a bit off feeling at first, but all the characters you know and love are there, and really there is no surprise as to who Sidney ultimately marries. Sidney is to be a classic vicar/priest, he very much embodies the vicar I had when I first converted to Episcopalian, so I've always related to him with glee, as watching him is like seeing that vicar's past!

This book deals with death and how it affects Sidney, both personally and professionally, echoing the death of Christ this Easter season, and how we deal with our grief and ultimately move on, with memories. It's a great book to examine the ultimate truth-we all die, and the human condition, and I can't recommend it enough!

 I have to admit I didn't realize there WAS a book series, so I do have to run out and read the previous 5 books! For any fan of the series, I highly recommend doing so, as so much more of the characters come out in the books! Start with this one if you'd like, and then go back and start at the beginning and work your way through!

About the Author:
James Runcie is an award-winning filmmaker and the author of eight novels. Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death, the first in the Grantchester Mysteries series, was published in 2012, soon followed by Sidney Chambers and The Perils of the Night, Sidney Chambers and The Problem of Evil, and Sidney Chambers and The Forgiveness of Sins. In November 2014, PBS began airing Grantchester, a primetime series starring James Norton as Sidney Chambers. James Runcie lives in London and Edinburgh.

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