Hello, and welcome to my review of the first book in the Grantchester mystery series, starring our much-loved priest, Sidney Chambers. You may know the name from the PBS series Grantchester (and, let’s face it, admired our handsome Sidney on the screen). Like anything else, this TV series was based on novels by James Runcie. I was surprised to find out, like the Father Brown series by G.K. Chesterton, that Sidney’s adventures are told in a series of short stories. Unlike Father Brown; however, I enjoyed Sidney’s tales a lot more.
I don’t think I’ve done a review on Father Brown, and I don’t think I will, unless I work up the courage to try him again. His plots were good, but the stories were plodding, hard to follow, and sometimes boring. Luckily, Sidney has none of these qualities, although his plots maintain their excellency.
Because these are short stories, I can’t give you a real synopsis of the novel, but I can confirm that Sidney, Inspector Keating, and Amanda are all characters that wind together throughout. We even encounter Amanda’s beau, Guy, but readers may be surprised to learn that he is present in exactly one short story as connected to Amanda. I won’t reveal any more, but suffice to say that aspects of this novel have been misrepresented in the TV series.
One misrepresentation that I’d like to mention is the portrayal of Sidney as a priest. The acting is fine, the face certainly easy to look at, but Sidney’s actions in the TV series are not always of the christian faith and oftentimes quite un-priestly. If you need an example, observe his behavior with Amanda!
In the novel, Sidney is the epitome of a good priest, if somewhat of an atypical one. He feels truly called to his work, and tries to contribute to his community any way he can, whether it be through service or conducting a service. He never behaves improperly, and his innermost thoughts reveal a man sincerely devoted to God and pursuing His purpose. Irrational behavior is not typical of Sidney, and his life is not one big melodrama. In fact, detecting at all does not even sit well with his conscience because it forces him to be cynical about people and to not see them as God would see them.
I feel that while I’m describing what a good priest Sidney is, readers of this post are groaning, thinking that this book is more of a reflection on the human condition from a christian perspective rather than an entertaining mystery series. Not so. It’s just told from a different point of view than we’re all used to, so the theological perspective is sometimes necessary to explain Sidney’s personality and his actions/reactions.
If you read the first ten pages, I think you’ll realize that you’re really in for a treat and not a lecture. This book is wildly different from the TV series, but it’s really good and far more uplifting. The short stories are also told in chronological order, which is really beneficial as it’s nice to see Sidney progress, his relationships grow, and overall character development. There are also several recurring characters who contribute well to the stories and it’s nice to run into them as we read about Sidney living his life. Overall, I would recommend this book. I knew I was going to like it after the first couple of pages, and I enjoyed it immensely.