Every now and then, I get into a whole mystery binge. I’m in one now! I had spent a lot of the summer reading a really excellent cultural / political writer, Thomas Geoghegan, and was suddenly ready for mysteries. Luckily, a brand-new bookstore, Heterotopia, had opened in my neighborhood. So I went in and picked out every mystery I wanted, some new, some pre-owned.
This one, The Sibyl in Her Grave, is by a fabulous writer, Sarah Caudwell, that I had previously missed. This is her last book, since she left the planet around the time it was published, in 2000.
I will likely, on my next mystery binge, get her 3 previous books. She is ironic, caustic, a Brit who is spot on culturally, very funny and yet sympathetic, at least to some of her characters. This is her village cozy mystery, and is a total treat, leaving me guessing until nearly the last moment.
The vicar, the evil or lying psychic, the live in helper, a bunch of London lawyers, a carpenter, and lots of wonderul descriptions of places and destinations. An erudite and literate work, lots of laughing and grins on my part – what could be better!? : >