Love for Sale (Grace & Favor Mysteries, No. 4) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jill Churchill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 2004

If Lily and Robert Brewster no longer have a penny to their names, at least they have a roof over their heads in this bleak Depression November of 1932 -- the sprawling estate of their late great-uncle in Voorburg-on-Hudson. But then a badly disguised stranger offers to pay generously to hold a very secret meeting there shortly before the national election. And soon one of the mystery guests is murdered in his bath, a local grade school teacher goes missing, and a little boy is kidnapped. With Pretty Boy Floyd rumored to be somewhere near, the nasty business smacks of underworld activity -- or possible political conspiracy aimed at sabotaging Roosevelt's election. Either way, Chief Howard Walker has nowhere to house all the suspects except at the local Hospital for the Criminally Insane. And the Brewster siblings are going to have their hands full tying the various ends together . . . and ferreting out the killer who abused their hospitality.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Agatha and Macavity winner Churchill once again brings the Depression era to appealing life in her latest well-plotted cozy (after 2001's Someone to Watch Over Me), set in Voorburg, N.Y. Siblings Robert and Lily Brewster, genteel victims of the '29 crash, run a guesthouse at Grace and Favor Cottage. On the eve of the 1932 presidential election, a "Mr. Smith" offers Robert and Lily $500 as a down payment on rooms for himself and three of his "business associates," who wish to hold a private meeting over several days. Can these men be gangsters, desperate Hoover supporters plotting to stop FDR at the last minute, or even Reds out to disrupt the election? Badly in need of cash, brother and sister reluctantly agree to the arrangement. When one of their mysterious guests gets murdered in his bath, Robert and Lily have even more cause to regret their decision. The victim turns out to be Brother Mark Luke Goodheart, a scoundrel who preached love and goodwill on the radio while fleecing the poor, the indigent and orphans. Lending some mild suspense are the disappearance of a local school teacher, the brief kidnapping of the boy Joey Towerton and Joey's mother's wait to learn whether her husband has been killed while working on Hoover Dam. Older readers will especially enjoy this look at dire times now safely past.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In November 1932 siblings Lily and Robert Brewster are excited about the upcoming presidential election: Will Governor Roosevelt win? The two share Grace and Favor Cottage with boarders in part to prove they can support themselves before the house actually becomes theirs to own. When a mysterious party of men offers a lot of cash to stay at the cottage just for the weekend, Lily wonders but accepts. Then one of the party is murdered. Lily and Robert assist in the investigation while also substitute teaching at the local school. Meanwhile, their attorney assists a local woman whose husband has died working on the far-off Hoover Dam project. Set pieces about the construction of the dam, Robert's rounding up folks in his Duesenberg to go vote for Roosevelt, and the difficulties of making a living along the Hudson River in the 1930s brighten the corners where a few cardboard villains lurk. Lots of period and local color, and not a few stalwart women. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (February 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061031224
• ISBN-13: 978-0061031229
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #311,770 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

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book!, June 27, 2003

By 

"keikosake" (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love for Sale (Grace & Favor Mysteries, No. 4) (Hardcover)

I have been a big fan of hers since her very first novel. I was really looking for this new Grace & Favor Mystery... and it was a great book. I learned a lot about the US history from this book too (I just moved to the US recently). I started to do some research about Hoover dam myself. A great book to read for your summer vacation.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a WONDERFUL book...., March 24, 2004

By 

K. A. Stevenson "WIAPilot" (Tucson) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Love for Sale (Grace & Favor Mysteries, No. 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

"Love for Sale" is the 4th book in the "Grace and Favor" Mystery Series by Jill Churchill and it is WONDERFUL.

Frankly, after reading the Amazon reviews I was hesitant to buy the book. But I had enjoyed the first three books of the series so much that I took a chance and I am very glad that I did.

I reread the first three books before continuing with this book and it didn't skip a beat. I am amazed at Ms. Churchill's ability to portray her characters of Lily and her brother, Robert Brewster as they are evolving and maturing. Robert is NOT as flighty as he was when younger. They are in the midst of the Depression, poverty is rampant and Americans are worried about the fate of their Nation and he is gaining some maturity.
One of my favorite scenes is when Robert drives "Voters for Roosevelt" to the polls in his Duesie when he didn't even VOTE in the previous election!

There is plenty of excitement in the book as a group of mysterious guests arrive at the mansion for a few days. A murder ensues and the plot thickens. "Love for Sale" also brings a new boarder and a few more husbands die.

Readers MAY have been disappointed by the book because due to the title, they may have been expecting a big romance for Lily or Robert. (Lily DOES need to have some romance soon and hopefully with a new man who is from a similar background.) The book does alternate between several characters, but to me it just makes them multi-faceted and doesn't focus on just one or two individuals.

I LOVE these characters and this town. I enjoy how they are maturing and how Churchill so expertly weaves historical facts into the plot. Her dialogue is amazing and so believable.

Don't expect a deep romance and I think that you will find that "Love for Sale" is Churchill at her finest.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars more a strong 1930s fiction that contains mystery subplots, June 18, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love for Sale (Grace & Favor Mysteries, No. 4) (Hardcover)

In 1932 in Voorburg-on-Hudson siblings Lily and Robert Brewster recover from their sudden fall from wealth by turning the mansion they can live in for life (according to their late uncle's will) into a bed and breakfast. When an obviously masqueraded stranger leases a room for the outrageous price of $500, Lily hesitantly agrees though she suspects the worst from this individual and his cronies coming for the weekend.

However, Lily misread what the worst is when someone stabs and subsequently drowns radio preacher Brother Mark Luke Goodheart in one of the B&B bathtubs. While Police Chief Walker investigates the homicide, Lily and Robert begin work as a substitute teacher temporarily replacing Millicent Langston who seems to have vanished. Meanwhile someone abducts young Joey while his mom waits for news whether her husband died while working on the Hoover Dam project. Lily being Lily cannot resist making inquiries into the murder, the misplaced teacher, and the kidnapped child.

Though this is a Grace and Favor mystery, the suspense elements take a back seat to the Depression Era ambiance of the story line. Readers can feel the mood at least near the Hudson River of the change in presidential administrations from Hoover to the New York Governor Roosevelt. The intrigues tie together, but never really hook the reader as deeply as the historical perspective as LOVE FOR SALE is more a strong 1930s fiction that contains mystery subplots.

Harriet Klausner