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.


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


Book Description

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.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Sister and brother Lily and Robert Brewster, raised in the lap of luxury, may no longer have a penny to their names, but at least they have a roof over their heads - which is more than many can say in this bleak November of 1932. This is thanks to their eccentric great-uncle, whose will allows them to live in his mansion on a sprawling estate in Voorburgon-Hudson. And now there's even some cash rolling in, since the Brewsters have taken part-time teaching duties at the local grade school." "But their luck turns sour when a mysterious and badly disguised stranger comes to Grace and Favor willing to pay generously to have a secret meeting there shortly before the presidential election. Are they gangsters? Pretty Boy Floyd is rumored to be somewhere near. Or worse, are they a rabid pro-Hoover political group trying to stop Roosevelt from being elected at the last minute by making up some nasty gossip about him?" When one of the mystery guests is murdered in his bath, a little boy is kidnapped, and Chief Howard Walker can't find anywhere to house all his suspects except the local Hospital for the Criminally Insane, the pace becomes hectic. In the end a local woman, a secretary from upriver whom Lily has befriended, and one of the children at the school provide the vital clues that allow Lily to put two and two together. But only after a wild car chase with three women drivers.

FROM THE CRITICS

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. (June 17) FYI: Churchill is also the author of The House of Seven Mabels (2002) and other titles in her Jane Jeffrey mystery series. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Wendy Glenn

A "Grace and Favor Mystery," this novel focuses on the case of the murdered evangelist. Lily and Robert Brewster are a brother and sister left destitute as a result of the Depression. Fortunately, they are taken in by their wealthy great-uncle who allows them to live in his mansion. When a local schoolteacher leaves unexpectedly, they are called upon to work as substitute teachers. They enjoy their time with the children as well as following the political events surrounding the presidential election involving Hoover and Roosevelt. Their lives are disrupted when a secretive and mysterious group of boarders comes to stay at the mansion, and it's leader, the Reverend Goodheart, turns up dead. On the case is police chief, Howard Walker, who spends his days interrogating potential suspects while Lily takes notes on what he discovers. Goodheart turns out to be not so good—stealing money from parishioners, raping several female employees and abandoning his son. As a result, several individuals have vendettas against him. In the end, a double identity is revealed, and the case is solved by the chief with a bit of help from Lily. Although the story itself is interesting and thoughtful (although rather predictable), the intended adolescent audience may find little resonance in the tale. Bogged down in details regarding politics of the time, centered around characters who are more adult than young adult, and told in a distant third person narrative, the novel lacks an immediacy often present in well-written novels for teens. 2003, HarperCollins, Ages 12 to 16.

Kirkus Reviews