On the HahaFiction shelf
A Nun in the Closet
by Dorothy Gilman
The abbey comes into an estate in New York, so Sister John and Sister Hyacinthe go to see what they’ve inherited. The tour turns up a bleeding man in an upstairs closet and a suitcase of money down the well. Someone has been making use of the place, and the sisters have to find out who.
From the publisher’s blurb
“a new mystery habit to acquire”Read the full description at Penguin Random House
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What makes it funny?
Sister John and Sister Hyacinthe go from assessing a piece of real estate to dealing with a gunshot wound. The discoveries keep asking the sisters to make decisions that no one at the abbey could have thought to brief them on.
The comedy at work
Gilman has fun with what happens when people who live in a cloister encounter people who have never had to explain themselves to a nun. The sisters’ surprise gets a laugh, and so does everyone else’s surprise at the sisters.
Try this if…
The book suits readers who enjoy a cozy mystery led by amateurs with a perspective of their own. The humor is affectionate toward the nuns even when their inheritance gives them reason to be alarmed.
Good to know
This is a standalone, so there’s no Mrs. Pollifax reading order to follow. The social concerns that come up around the mystery reflect the 1970s, when Gilman was writing.
A few distinguishing details
- Two nuns investigating their abbey’s inheritance
- Money in the well and a wounded man in the closet
More funny amateur sleuth
Sources & further reading
- Publisher
Publisher
- Carstairs Considers review
Review
- Open British National Bibliography
Book information
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