Thieves Break In

by One thumb up and one thumb down

I would have enjoyed this book more had I not read the quote on the back from The Santa Fe New Mexican, "For those who thrive on Jan Karon's Mitford novels."  The protagonist in both is an Episcopalian Priest.  The similarity stops about there.  Yes, I'd say that's about the only commonality.  But the comment would imply to me a hometown portrayal of American values and a rich depiction of the variety of personalities that makes life interesting.  Those features are what makes the Mitford books stand out in the literary marketplace.

Another quote on the back, this from Sarah Graves, author of the Home Repair is Homicide mysteries, with which I'm unfamiliar "...Two smart quirky sleuths with a heart--and soul."  The two quotes taken together gave the impression that the characters would be presenting some sort of morality.  As I found out, they were.  But the morality portrayed is not of the traditional Judeao-Christian bent.

For the one thumb up, the book is a pretty good murder mystery, nothing outstanding, but then, that's not usually the purpose in reading a murder mystery.  The characters are mostly well developed, the plot has appropriate twists and turns, the settings are interesting and richly described.

An interesting departure from the typical murder mystery, is the sleuthing the primary gumshoes, Katherine and Tom, do.  Although they are not primarily the ones who solve the mystery, they are instrumental in solving it, mostly through a series of coincidental incidents.  Katherine and Tom spend their time unravelling the mysteries of the family line of the landowners where the murder took place.  Everything of course falls together at the end, but I found this use of the sleuths an interesting twist.

The strong point is probably the author's use of time.  The story-line unfolds in a non-linear manner and skips from one decade to another in a fashion exactly to my liking.  I had to check back on people and places periodically, but not so much that it became frustrating.  At two points, just when I thought I had lost all the connections completely, the author gave me a family tree to which I could refer.  Some of the threads of story were only touched upon once early on and then left to the end.  This device left me curious throughout as to how these strings were going to be woven in.

My disappointment with the book is based on my personal morality and my preference for reading books that either avoid moralizing completely or portray traditional moral lifestyles.  This book seems to want to portray those things traditionally considered immoral, as sanctioned by those who are supposed to be the shepherds of the church. 

The protagonist, the Reverend Kathryn Koerney, is an Episcopalian priest.  Her cousin who has just died under mysterious circumstances was her best friend, and we find out was homosexual.  This in itself is not important, nor was the gentleman's sexuality important to the story line, but the way it is portrayed is somewhat preachy and moralizing.  I felt as though the whole reason for including it was as an opportunity to portray bigotry against the homosexual lifestyle.

Kathryn at one point in the book arranges to stay the night with a guy she's falling in love with, although because of the way the plot unravelled near the end, we're not told whether she kept that date. 

From the beginning, it is clear that Tom, Kathryn's fellow sleuth and one of her parishioners is in love with her, but is himself married to another.  At the end of the story, as a hooked line to the next book in the series, Tom is encouraged by a wise elder character to not give up on Kathryn.  His final words of exhortation, "I seriously doubt that any man who does not have the balls to get out of a loveless marriage deserves Kathryn Korney."

All these moral points would not bother me as much in a different setting.  But taken together and portrayed as they are, they seem designed to push the envelope.  The idea of a pastor who accepts non-traditional values seems a bit contrived.  At best, the effect does not make for pleasant diversionary reading.  At worst, it just makes me plum mad.  It seems deceitful and preachy.  Especially when coupled with the endorsements the publishers chose to put on the back cover of the book.

The Nanny Diaries

by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus


Uffda!  Thumbs Down.


The book is a downer.  The Nanny Diaries is the kind of book that wraps the reader up in the characters and their lives and then uses those well developed characters to spin a completely depressing plot.  Technically the book is well written and the plot moves along.  But the plot itself is very sad.


While Nan is finishing her degree, she gets a part time nanny job for an ultra rich Manhattan couple.  Which turns into a nearly full time (but only paid for part time) nanny job caring for Grayer.  It becomes apparent very early on that Nan's care is the only love that little Grayer ever gets.  In short order, as would happen to any decent human being, Nan gives her heart to this little person and, in order to make Grayer's life a little better, puts herself at the beck and call of Grayer's self absorbed mother.


This drives Nan nuts over time.  But the father's overly confident mistress drives her even nutser.  Nan moralizes over the decision of whether or not to "tell on him".  If she does, she has good reason to believe she will be dismissed, which will only hurt Grayer.  But is she wrong to hide something of such import from her employer.


During play dates and various lessons and other scheduled activities, Nan gets to know and even is befriended by other cooks, house cleaners and nannies.  Several of these employees are dismissed by their employers during the course of the book, all for little or no reason, on a whim of a wealthy, self-centered parent.


Readers are given a glimpse into the competition of upper income private school admissions.  The small children are pushed and educated and forced into violin, Latin, French, piano, music, art  and music history seemingly from the time they are born, all by way of the time and energies of the nannies.  All this, so that by the time they have their interviews for Kindergarten, they can get one of the few slots in the school of their parents' choice.  

The four-year-olds in the book are carried and strolled around New York.  They are dressed and spoon fed (a very strict diet designed for ultimate brain growth) and pampered.  They are incapable of independent activity.


Yes, I do understand this is fiction.  But on the back cover it did claim to be true-to-life.  It also said hilarious.  The only way this book could be hilarious is if it couldn't ever be true.  Frightening and depressing would be my preferred words.


Apparently I'm somewhat alone in my opinion, however, because I see it's been made into a comedic movie starring Scarlett Johansson as Nan.