This was October’s selection for my mystery book club and it was a good one. I think we all agreed that in general the story itself was great, the setting was interesting and we were all satisfied with the selection and the discussion. However, there is one back story within that not all of us were comfortable with, and without giving away a part of the story I can’t really say much more than that.
The main character is Claire, a former Army helicopter pilot, who was called to the faith after a personal tragedy and now serves as a minister in the Episcopal Church. The opening scene is in the emergency room, right after she found an abandoned child on the steps of the church in the middle of winter (In the Bleak Midwinter). The story is then about finding the parents of the child and the series of events that evolve from this central story. I like the discussion about what to call her, she settles on Reverend but her comment on how people want to say “Father” is funny, and that there really won’t be a good alternative for women until the Catholic church allows women priests. You can’t say “Mother” as that is a nun and of course “Sister” is also a nun, so what do you say? 🙂
Although the main character is at times very naive in relation to the upbringing and experiences that she has had, all in all it was a good book and a great setting. Reading about someone new to snow and driving an MG sportscar in the middle of a snow storm is pretty funny. Being in Minnesota in the fall, it puts me in mind of our upcoming winter snow and that “midwinter” is not that far away! The best part was that I didn’t figure out who the bad person was until close to the end, which was fun.
Forestfire4's Blog 