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It Had to Be You
A Grace & Favor Mystery
Jill Churchill
William Morrow (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0-06-052843-5
Publication Date: March, 2004
List Price: $23.95
Synopsis (from
the
publisher): March 3, 1933, the day before Franklin Roosevelt's
inauguration. While Robert Brewster heads to Washington, D.C., to
witness the historic event, his sister, Lily, travels to a nursing home
near Grace & Favor. The owner, Miss Twibell, has lost an assistant
nurse, and the siblings have agreed to help out.
The home is full of colorful characters, including a cantankerous old
man named Sean Connor, the only patient who is seriously ill. The very
day the Brewsters arrive, he slips into a coma and passes away. Though
saddened, no one is surprised by his death — until it's revealed
that he's been murdered. The old man wasn't well liked, but who would
bother to murder him when he had so little time left? Several people
had visited his room that morning, and there are plenty of suspects.
Good motives, on the other hand, are thin on the ground.
And Mr. Connor isn't the only victim in town. Over the winter, a young
man went missing and was presumed dead, though no body was found. Now
that the spring sun has melted the ice, a body has surfaced. Is this
the missing man or has a third crime been committed?
With multiple murders plaguing the community, the Brewster siblings are
more committed than ever to helping the police find a cold-blooded
criminal before he strikes again.
Review: It Had to Be You is the 5th mystery in the Grace & Favor series by Jill Churchill featuring siblings Robert and Lily Brewster.
It's always a puzzle when an author goes to great lengths to set up a conundrum in a mystery they have written, then do nothing to resolve it. Such is the case with It Had to Be You. On the dust jacket, this query: "... who would bother to murder [the old man] when he had so little time left?". The Chief of Police ponders on numerous occassions the same perplexing aspect of this crime. Yet, in the final chapter of the book when the culprit is identified, no mention is made of why the murder was committed so close to the man's natural death.
Fans of cozy mysteries will undoubtedly appreciate It Had to Be You as it is a rather enjoyable book. Churchill does a wonderful job with setting, dialog, and characterization. But other than the curiosity of the timing of the murder, there's not much intrigue here. Unfortunately, the real mystery of It Had to Be You is why Churchill didn't follow through on answering a key question raised during the murder investigation.
Review Copyright © 2004 Hidden Staircase Mystery Books
Other mysteries in this series by Jill Churchill:
Anything Goes
HarperCollins (1999)
0-380-80244-9
In the Still of the Night
HarperCollins (2000)
0-380-80245-7
Someone to Watch Over Me
William Morrow (2001)
0-06-019941-5
Love for Sale
William Morrow (2003)
0-06-019942-3
Who's Sorry Now
William Morrow (2005)
0-06-073459-0
Omnimystery
keywords for It Had to Be You
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Locations referenced: Washington, D.C..
