The Grantchester Mysteries is a series of short story collections by James Runcie. The short stories are all connected and follow the criminal investigations of Sidney Chambers, a vicar in Grantchester. The crimes are not all murders, but they are all treated seriously. There were only six short stories in this collection, and they are not very short. The shortest one was 50 pages, the longest was 80 pages, so some of them count as novellas? Anyway, I liked all of the stories, not sure which is my favorite, and I now have a copy of the 2nd book in the series. I have not seen the TV series based on this series, but we will try it sometime.
The first story is set in 1953, the coronation year of Queen Elizabeth II. I read that story back in October 2025 and discussed it in this post.
I finished reading all of the stories in Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death in early December and I enjoyed them very much. I like that Sidney is a vicar in the Church of England; I enjoy mysteries with a clerical setting. I admit that the various titles used in the Church of England are confusing to me, but the more I read these stories the closer I come to a rough understanding of the different roles.
"A Question of Trust"
This is the second story in the book and it begins on December 31st, 1953. Sidney is taking the train to London to visit with some family and friends. He then takes a bus to St. John's Wood, where he will attend a New Year's Eve dinner party at the home of his friend Nigel, one of the most promising MPs in the country. His sister Jenny, her new boyfriend, and Jenny's friend and flatmate Amanda Kendall will also be at the dinner. Sidney has known Amanda for years, and has always been attracted to her, but once he decided to become a clergyman, he was no longer considered a viable marriage partner for her.
At the dinner party, Amanda's engagement ring is stolen. The ring was very valuable and her fiance is understandably upset. It is suggested that Sidney help look into how the ring could have disappeared.
Several of the characters in this story show up in later stories, and I like the continuity from story to story. Sidney questions whether he should be involving himself in investigating crimes, in view of his profession. He often questions his beliefs but he is dedicated to his work; I like his philosophizing (to himself, usually) on various issues.
Other stories in the book deal with (1) the investigation of forgeries and thefts of valuable art works; (2) a man murdered on stage, in a play that Sidney has a small part in; (3) a death at a jazz club; and (4) a doctor who may be helping older persons in the village towards death after long illnesses.
8 comments:
By my standards, unless the print in the book is tree-martyringly large (bigger than most large-print books'), a fifty-page story is a novella, much less an 80-pager, so it sound like that a collection of novellas. 50pp makes for a long novelet, at least (or novelette, to make the spell-checker happier). I have yet to see more than one, I think, of the dramatic adaptations, and haven't read any, so good to know where to go look.
These do sound like interesting stories, Tracy. I like the atmosphere as you've described it, and the plots sound interesting. You make an interesting point, too, about the length. Sometimes it's hard to draw the line between what counts as a short story and what counts as a novella/novelette. I ought to read some Runcie...
I am a fan of the series on PBS and the ones that followed it, but have not read the stories.
I remember when you posted about this before. I would like to read the stories at some point.
Like Patti, I've watched Grantchester Mysteries on PBS, but haven't read the stories. Now, I want to!
I read the stories after seeing the adaptation's first season. I liked both, but noticed at least one major difference between them. If you do watch the series, be prepared for several different vicars! But I thought Robson Green was the series' biggest asset--the series gives Geordie (as well as other characters) more space than the stories do.
Todd, I agree with you on lengths of novellas; as far as upper length, my personal "rule" is under 100 pages, although, as you mention, it can make a difference depending on the size of the type. Currently longer lengths than seem to be called novellas.
Margot, I am enjoying the stories and the historical part of it seems well done to me.
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