Anything Goes:: A Grace and Favor Mystery

by Jill Churchill

Book Overview

The crash of 1929 has ended the party for high-living New Yorkers Lily Brewster and her brother, Robert. But their recently deceased great-uncle Horatio has left them a Grace and Favor "Cottage"--really a great mansion--to live in. They move to the quiet Hudson River community, but when a corpse appears in their kitchen, they begin snooping to clear their names, unaware that they may be the killer's next targets.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380802449
• ISBN13: 9780380802449
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Fun, Fun, Fun

What a wonderful addition to Jill Churchill's Jeffrey books. And a rather different situtation--sister and brother set in the early part of the 20th century. Reminds me of Tommy and Tuppence that Agatha Christie wrote. Can't wait for more in this fabulous new series. Lots of fun to read and they take you away from everyday life for a few minutes. Good clues and plot.

The crash of 1929 deprived them of everything

Lily Brewster and her brother, Robert, had lived among the idle rich until the crash of 1929. Since the onset of the Depression, both Robert and Lily have barely been eking out a living. When they receive an unexpected summons in the paper, the two journey to the property of their deceased great-uncle Horatio Brewster only to discover they have inherited his entire estate complete with stipulations. Having agreed to the conditions of the will, Robert and Lily relocate to the mansion they now call Grace and Favor cottage only to gradually find themselves embroiled in gossip surrounding Uncle Horatio's death. When it is suspected that he was murdered and another dead body is found in their home, Lily and Robert find themselves connecting the two deaths and on the hunt for the murderer. Better known for her contemporary surburbia mysteries, Jill Churchill has struck out admirably upon a new series set in the thirties. With Robert and Lily Brewster, she has created a somewhat off-center yet engaging duo. What makes these protagonists unusual to both readers and characters in the book itself, is that Lily is clearly the brain of this outfit while Robert is deceptively indifferent. Though he does manage to surprise his sister and the other characters with his occasional insight, it is Lily who gathers the information and does most of the sleuthing. Her help, and sources, lie in the characters that live in the area and will likely recur. They include Uncle Horatio's attorney and his wife as well as Jack Summer, a struggling and earnest reporter. Anything Goes is a tightly drawn mystery that interweaves the misery of the Depression with the desperation of people struggling with its aftermath. In the ten years Robert and Lily must remain at the cottage, it can be anticipated that this team of brother and sister will come across more strange occurrences that must be solved. I look forward to joining them again.

Characters and place are a delightful combination!

Prior to Anything Goes, the first book in the Grace and Favor series, Jill Churchill, was well known for her Jane Jeffrey mysteries. While I moderately enjoyed titles like Grime and Punishment or Silence of the Hams which featured a suburban mother of three turned detective, I found the blurbs for Antything Goes quite intriguing. And now that I've read it, I must say Anything Goes, is a delightful and fun read even if you don't always favor murder mysteries.Lily Brewser and her brother, Robert, are unfortunate vitims of the Depression. Born to wealthy parents they lived a life of luxury until that fateful day when the market crashed and their father committed suicide. Working at tiresome jobs and sharing a small apartment in Manhattan, they experience great difficulties in making ends meet. Then they are informed that their great-uncle died recently and left them his large home on the Hudson.On their first visit, not only do they meet a cast of characters that either come with the house or live nearby, but they also learn the terms of the inheritance of this Grace and Favor home. Grace and Favor is an English term which refers to living in a home and maintaining it for a period of time after which you totally inherit the house. And as the Brewsters feared they cannot sell the house for a very long time if ever. There is the requisite murder which involves their great uncle and a growing affection for Lily on the part of an area newspaperman.Just the other day I came across the second book in this series called, In the Still of the Night, which was recently published. Now I can't decide whether to gulp it down immediately or wait for a lazy summer's day.

Great Start for a New Series

After the 1929 crash, young brother and sister Lily and Robert Brewster go from New York's high society to living in poverty. Lily doesn't even have proper clothes to wear to her low-paying job at the bank, and they can barely afford to eat. When their great uncle dies and leaves them his mansion in the country, they at least have a place to live, but they have to live in the mansion ten years before they can collect the fortune that goes with it. Taking in boarders helps them support themselves, but other problems arise. For one, it turns out uncle didn't die naturally but was murdered, and they're suspects. I loved this book. It's a little bit history and a little bit fairy tale, as well as a good mystery. I hope this is the beginning of a new series and that there will be more very soon.

Anything Goes

I loved this mystery--I have read all the books in the mystery series featuring Jane Jeffry. I think this book will be the start of an interesting new series for the author. The locale and time frame are entirely different from what she has done before. It takes place in New York in the 1930's, with an interesting brother and sister combo as the main characters. Lily and Robert Brewster have fallen on hard times after the crash of 1929 and are living a very hand-to-mouth existence. They jump at the chance at going to live in their uncle's estate after his untimely death. Their living there come with certain conditions, however. By starting to fulfill these conditions, they discover that their uncle's death may not have been an accident. When they begin to ask questions about it, they find out that they may be looked on as suspects! The book was completely enjoyable and a must for those who enjoy her other mystery series.