Quaker Witness: An Elizabeth Elliot Mystery by Irene Allen. My Ffriend Poodle Doc loaned me a couple of these mysteries a while back. I'm not generally a big fan of mysteries because they tend to be so formulaic, but, in need of some diversion I finally got around to reading one of them.
The story takes place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Elizabeth Elliot -- a sweet yet dynamic widow probably in her late sixties -- is the Clerk of the Cambridge Quaker Meeting. A female graduate student in paleontology at Harvard brings sexual harassment charges against her academic adviser, a rare challenge to the status quo within Harvard's rarefied academic environment. When the professor is murdered in his lab, the graduate student is the chief suspect. She seeks the counsel of Elizabeth Elliot, who believes her to be innocent of the charges and grossly violated by the actions of the now-dead professor.
Yeah, it was formulaic and not super well written, which is a pet peeve of mine. But overall, it was fun and quite informational as to the peculiar ways of Quakers. I liked the feminist angle, and the fact that Elizabeth Elliot struggles with moral questions about what it means to do good and whether the end justifies the means, among other things.
If you like mysteries and have an interest in learning more about Quakerism, you might enjoy this and the other 3 (so far) books in the series.
(Cross-posted at the Winter Reading Challenge, which ends tomorrow.)
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7 comments:
Sounds interesting. I am always looking for something new to read.
Is there, by any chance, a character with firm breasts and perky buttocks? Or is it perky breasts and firm buttocks? I can't remember.
Tweetey 30, yes they are fun to read.
Ed, what are you thinking? Actually there was little of that in there. What annoyed me was that the main character never drank a cup of tea. It was always Darjeeling tea or Earl Grey tea ... it was obvious that the author had taken to heart the advice to be descriptive at all times.
Most of the mysteries I've read seem to have a female character with perky breasts and a firm bottom. Or is it firm breasts and a perky bottom? Or maybe both. The novels of Dan Brown are an example. Of course, while quakers aren't exactly known for their perkiness, they have a reputation for being capable of Ffriendly Ffirmness.
Ed, aren't I perky enough for you?
Well, a few more clearness committee meetings for membership, with Dottie's French silk tartlets, and no, I will have a saggy bottom.
Perkiness aside, I'm glad you read the book. True, she's not as gifted a writer as, say, JK Rowling, but I enjoyed that it was a "little old lady" (sorry Ed).
A funny side story to this is that I was wanting to loan one of these to a friend, couldn't find them and couldn't recall who I'd loaned them to. Now...........I know! No worries, I've kept some of your books for months, years even. I may still have some. bwahshahaha Glad you found it interesting.
Ah, J.K. (We're on a first initial basis.) Yes, she is a paragon of outstanding writing. I still have "Stiff" too, in case you were wondering, PD. (A friend just returned a book to me that she had had for 9 years! I had long forgotten who I loaned it to and purchased another copy.)
On a different note, I am now reading (on Sminthia's recommendation) Alcatraz Smedley VS. the Evil Librarians which I am enjoying immensely.
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