Anything Goes (Grace and Favor Mysteries, No. 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jill Churchill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1999

They Have Inherited a Lovely Upstate Mansion. . .

The crash of 1929 has ended the party for high-living New Yorkers Lily Brewster and her brother Robert and takes them from the upper echelons of the idle rich and deposits them to the lowly depths of the disillusioned poor. However, rescue arrives in the form of their recently deceased great-uncle Horation who bequeaths to them Grace and Favor "Cottage" which is really a great sprawling mansion. And there's a fortune to go with it, but only if they reside there for ten years.

And an Inconvenient Corpse

With no other alternative, the spirited Manhattanites move to a quiet and quaint Hudson River community and try to fit in. But they soon find out that great-uncle Horatio didn't die peacefully. He was murdered while on an elaborate sailing party on the Hudson River aboard his yacht -- and Lily and Robert are suspects. But when another corpse appears in the kitchen of the mansion, the siblings are determined to clear themselves. Without a clue how to begin, Lily and Robert start snooping, unaware that their savvy sleuthing could make them the killer's next targets.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Siblings Lily and Robert Brewster are having trouble making ends meet in New York City following the 1929 stock market crash. Lily has a dreary position as a bank clerk and Robert does odd jobs as a waiter and bartender. But their luck changes when they're summoned to Westchester County, where an attorney announces that their uncle Horatio has left them his mansion. The stipulation: the two must live in the home for 10 years before they actually become owners. Though reluctant to leave Manhattan, Lily and Robert move in. They soon learn that Horatio died during a party on a yacht and that his death may not have been an accident. Then, the corpse of Horatio appears in the kitchen one night, and the two are drawn into solving their uncle's apparent murder. To do so, they must confront affluent neighbors, servants and other localsAsome of whom clearly want Lily and Robert out of their lives. Churchill adeptly captures the spirit of this early 20th-century Hudson Valley community, insulated from the rest of the world. With its various twists and false leads to the murderer, this mystery makes for a pleasant, albeit light, diversion.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Agatha Christie is alive and well and writing under the name of Jill Churchill." -- -- Nancy Pickard

"Agatha Christie is alive and well and writing under the name of Jill Churchill." -- Nancy Pickard

"Jill Churchill just keeps getting better and better." -- -- Kansas City Star

"Jill Churchill just keeps getting better and better." -- Kansas City Star

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Avon (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380802449
• ISBN-13: 978-0380802449
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #403,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jill Churchill has won the Agatha and Macavity Mystery Readers Awards and was nominated for an Anthony Award for her bestselling Jane Jeffry series. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed Grace and Favor mysteries and lives in the Midwest.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anything Goes, February 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Anything Goes (Grace and Favor Mysteries, No. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

48 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Characters and place are a delightful combination!, May 16, 2000

By 

Nancy R. Katz "NancyK18" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anything Goes (Grace and Favor Mysteries, No. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Start for a New Series, February 26, 2000

By 

Margaret H "Kentucky Reader" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Anything Goes (Grace and Favor Mysteries, No. 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.