Book Review: Someone to Watch Over Me

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Someone to Watch Over Me     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Jill Churchill
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth   Historical   Cozy
Series: Grace and Favor # 3
Morrow, Nov 2001, $24.00, 240 pp.

At one time siblings Robert and Lily were card-carrying members of the idle rich living off their father’s fortune. When the stock market crashed in 1929, the duo was left destitute as their father committed suicide. Sadly neither has a skill to earn a decent living, upper class style that is. However, a relative comes to the rescue by dying and leaving his vast estate to the brother and sister if they move into his mansion in Upstate New York and support themselves for the next ten years.

It proves very difficult to find work in 1932, but neither sit idle. Robert finds a body on the property and is determined to find out who he was, especially since Lily’s new friend Roxanne is believed to have killed her husband though no corpse has been found. Lily knows her friend did not commit any homicide and decides to prove she is right. Is amateur sleuthing acceptable under the stipulations of their inheritance? The Brewsters do not care because they believe they must do the right thing regardless.

Jill Churchill has written a delightful historical cozy that captures much of the ambiance of America’s Great Depression. The bewitching Brewsters brood is adjusting to a radical lifestyle change while trying to help a neighbor. SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME is enjoyable as the characters are engaging, the plot strong and vibrant, and the mystery cleverly executed.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner