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4.0 out of 5 stars
Mother, with the help of friends, sorts it all out..., August 29, 2005
This is my first introduction to the mystery writings of Kate Gallison, a fellow Jerseyite. A pleasant introduction to her Mother Lavinia Grey mysteries. I picked this book up on a whim, as I usually don't read fiction. I just wanted something light that would hold my interest and Hasty Retreat answered that request on both accounts.
First off, if your Roman Catholic, like me, you think Mother Superior, but Mother Lavinia Grey is an Episcopal Priest, so one must get the title Mother straight. Once I got beyond that it was smooth sailing.
In my book you can never go wrong in setting a mystery in a monestery. If you liked The Name of the Rose by Eco and The Haunted Monastery by Van Gulik you will certainly enjoy Hasty Retreat. This mystery has great characters beside Mother Grey, I especially enjoyed Deacon Deedee. My only negative about this book is that the dialogue in the beginning of the book is a bit choppy and at times I wondered who was actually speaking. But, as I read on the writer overcame this problem and good story development took over. Hasty Retreat is a good and enjoyable read.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Mission furniture, October 9, 2003
What is sacrament? What is mission furniture? This is a sprightly funny mystery with ecclesiastical trappings. Actual mission furniture is functional. Hospitality is a ministry. A stay in a monastery guesthouse could be refreshing. The site is across the Hudson from Hyde Park. A group from a rival church appears at the monastery guesthouse. Mother Lavinia Grey had been hoping to have a sort of vacation. The chant of the monks of St. Hugh's is wonderful, she finds. Lavinia Grey is the pastor of St. Bede's, a declining congregation. She is afraid that the denominational missionary department may very well close the church, disband it. Brother Basil, eighty-five years old, ends up dead, stabbed by a knitting needle. He and the novice had moved a box from his room the previous evening. A Liberian, age 17, the novice, becomes the focus of the murder investigation. The issue of pro bono representation of the Liberian causes problems in the employment sector among some of the guests. The matter of alibis at the probable time of death, between 11:30 and 1:00, is interesting, since someone believes her husband is involved in a dalliance with another guest. Some of the guests devise a timeline of sightings or probable sightings. Perhaps the killing is a case of mistaken identity. How many of the people present have a garment resembling a monk's robe it is wondered. One of the guests is nearly asphyxiated by a plastic bag. Lavinia finds that someone has brought a fleshpot mentality to a spiritual retreat and she is annoyed. A monk maintains a furniture workshop. It is possible to make reproduction furniture in the mission style. It turns out the murder was committed to obtain a very expensive chair. The chair was pictured on a campaign poster. It is an enjoyable story.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Different type of mystery., August 23, 2001
Mother Lavinia is not your average sleuth. She is the pastor of St. Bede's Church in Fisherville, NJ. The Church Hierarchy is not too fond of female clerics it seems and she had to constantly fight to keep her little church open. She goes on a retreat to a monastery in an effort to get some rest and contemplate her future. She sees immediately that she is going to get little rest. Her two parishoners the Smartts think that they are on a second honeymoon. Martine is in a foul mood about something, and the rest of the monastery has been booked by her nemesis and the politician who once tried t kill her with a polo mallet. Vinnie vows to make the best of it. Then, one of the monks is killed and Vinnie has to find out who did it in a very short period of time. This novel takes place in a fairly unique setting, a non-catholic monastery. The characters are pretty interesting and the mystery very good. I am definitely going to read more of this series.
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