The Road to Grantchester

Reviews

Exceptional… fans of Runcie’s sophisticated mixing of whodunit plots with explorations of the human psyche in prior entries will relish getting a fuller picture of Sidney’s path toward a life in the church. Fans of the books (Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love, 2017, etc.) and the popular PBS series will find very little mystery but much to delight them in this often moving look at how life's difficult decisions are made. Series fans will know what Chambers’ future holds, but that in no way diminishes thepleasure of this prequel, which lays the groundwork for his life of faith and shows hiswartime experience aiding in his detecting avocation. A must for fans and a good starting point for others. A tremendous novel — shrewd, compelling and full of insight — James Runcie elevates the genre to impressive new heights. Charming, clever and warm: perfect comfort food for the soul 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. Richly atmospheric . . . Runcie's intimate view of post-WWII English society will appeal to admirers of Barbara Pym. His clerical sleuth would be welcome in a novel-length puzzle one day. Chambers turns out to be a winning clergyman-sleuth, and Runcie's literary authority is repeatedly demonstrated in the construction of his elegant tales . . . there is no denying the winning charm of these artfully fashioned mysteries. James Runcie has created a wholly believable origins story for his sleuthing vicar Sidney Chambers, a man made and broken by war . . . Written with a delicate intelligence; Runcie knows that people may communicate with those of whom they are fond even while one is baffled by the other . . . It’s unusual these days to read a novel which is not only about ethical questions but one where the hero is a good man, admirable, if not always likeable. Goodness is much harder to convey than evil, but Runcie brings it off without sentimentalising his hero. He also shows that, while a priest should be fully engaged in the world around him, he always stands a little apart . . . Sidney Chambers is as convincing as any flesh-and-blood creature, not just an idea of a parson. This is because Runcie has thoroughly imagined him and in this coming-of-age novel he shows us how and why he became what he is The Sidney Chambers series may be comforting, but it's not simple. Runcie meant these novels to be a commentary on life in post-World War II Britain, and so they are. But the themes of good and evil, temptation and sacrifice, remain as fresh as today's news feed. Expand reviews