*** DEBUG START ***
*** DEBUG END ***

Crimes in the Honest to God era

by
11 July 2014

Peggy Woodford on four tales of clerical sleuthing come of age

Sidney Chambers and the Problem of Evil (The Grantchester Mysteries)
James Runcie
Bloomsbury £14.99
(978-1-4088-5099-2)
CT Bookshop Special Offer £12.99 (Use code CT954 )

JAMES RUNCIE's four new stories about Canon Sidney Chambers, amiable if eccentric part-time sleuth, is the third book of six in the Grantchester Mysteries series spanning the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. Chambers is ideal for this period: he fought in the Second World War; he worked his way up the clerical ladder in the '50s; it is now 1963, and he is newly married to his beloved German wife, Hildegard.

"The Problem of Evil" is the most sinister of the stories, dealing with a series of murders of priests. I was jarred by a slight mismatch of tone between the horrors of the actual killings and their motive: would a man with a grievance against the clergy really take it so far? But maybe that's the inevitable balance needed between horror and banality: Chambers discusses favourite biscuits, demonic possession, animal sacrifice, and murder, in a long conversation leading to the discovery of the murderer.

"Female, Nude" has a dramatic beginning in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Chambers is enjoying the pictures when a beautiful girl wanders by singing a French song with the haunting refrain "Oh gai! Vive la rose!". Her coat is over her arm, revealing that she is completely naked, and, during this unusual distraction, a picture is stolen. Runcie gives us a delicious picture of London's art scene in the Swinging Sixties before Chambers's search for the missing picture takes him to Dieppe, so changed since his own terrible landing at Juno Beach nearly 20 years before.

The dialogue in "Death by Water" shows more of Runcie's unerring ear: a film crew have arrived in Grantchester to film a Dorothy Sayers novel, and Chambers's conversation with the leading (middle-aged) actress made me laugh out loud. The story itself is rather contrived, and less successful than Runcie's perfect evocation of location chaos.

The final and shortest story of the collection, "Christmas, 1963", is fittingly about birth: the theft and return of a newborn baby. Chambers becomes a father himself.

Peggy Woodford is a novelist.

Browse Church and Charity jobs on the Church Times jobsite

Church Times Bookshop

Save money on books reviewed or featured in the Church Times. To get your reader discount:

> Click on the “Church Times Bookshop” link at the end of the review.

> Call 01603 785905 (Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm).

The reader discount is valid for two months after the review publication date. E&OE

Forthcoming Events

 

Festival of Preaching: Preaching Truth to Power

13 September 2025

Join us at London's Southwark Cathedral for this one-day event — a transformative gathering of bold voices, prophetic vision, and Spirit-led conviction..

tickets available

 

Finding inspiration in the Psalms : a Church Times one day festival

2 October 2025

Join us in York for this one-day event exploring the gift of the Psalms through poetry, art, liturgy and music.

tickets available

  

Visit our Events page for upcoming and past events 

The Church Times Archive

Read reports from issues stretching back to 1863, search for your parish or see if any of the clergy you know get a mention.

FREE for Church Times subscribers.

Explore the archive

Welcome to the Church Times

 

To explore the Church Times website fully, please sign in or subscribe.

Non-subscribers can read four articles for free each month. (You will need to register.)