Bury the Bishop

Mother Lavinia Grey #1

by Kate Gallison

Episcopal vicar Lavinia Grey had trouble enough holding her poverty-stricken church together, what with the old parishioners dying off , the young ones consumed with emotional problems, and the neighboring priest coveting her church windows. But things got much worse when her bishop was found dead at the diocesan convention, and the clues all pointed straight to Mother Vinnie. Mystery by Kate Gallison, first of the Mother Lavinia Grey series; originally published by Dell

Genres: Mystery

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

aka Irene Fleming

Kate Gallison was born in Philadelphia and grew up reading mystery stories, from Nancy Drew to the lurid paperbacks her mother kept on the bottom shelf in the sunroom. Over the years she has worked for the Washington Post, John Wanamaker's department store, the State of New Jersey, and two large software houses in Princeton, New Jersey. When she started writing mysteries of her own, the characters and the politics in these workplaces were all grist to her mill.

Kate has three grown sons and a bachelor's degree in humanities from Thomas Edison College. She lives in Lambertville with her musician husband and their cat.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mother Lavinia Grey knows that she could do great things with little St. Bede's church in a depressed part of New Jersey. But the bishop, indeed most of the diocese, is against letting her even try. So when she's the one who finds the bishop dead, she becomes suspect number one. Detective Dogg doesn't want to believe it--he's falling for the petite widow--but the evidence points to Vinnie. And she gradually realizes that one of her friends is leaving evidence that leads straight to the rectory door.

[Shereen Vedam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clever characterizations and amusing. But the plot mechanics need work. And for heaven's sake, what a terrible version this publisher has put out! It is literally rife with typos.

[Laraf123 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters and setting had great potential but the author didn't take the best advantage of that. I wish she would have. This could have been better than 2.5 stars.

I read cozies to take a break from the more intense stories that I enjoy. I'd never be able to read two Louise Penny novels, back to back. I find it difficult to find a cozy series or even a stand alone book that doesn't assume I have a fourth grade comprehension level. So far, only the Little Library novels meet up my high standards. I would love to find more.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good first book in a series.

Mother Lavinia Grey is an relatively new Episcopalian Priest at a very small parish in a very small town in New Jersey. There are forces at work in the church politics that want to close her church and move her parishioners to a near-by town. While she is busy trying to save her church the Bishop is killed.

Lavinia soon comes under suspicion as the killer, partly because she found the body and partly because of her push to save her church.

There is an interesting cast of supporting characters such as a depressed woman, a socially awkward and sometimes depressed young man and a good looking cop.

I didn't figure out the mystery in this one, but really enjoyed the ride.

I'm coming late to this series so there are several books to read, and I'll be reading more of them as I find the time.

[TurtleneckGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light mystery featuring Mother Lavinia Grey, the vicar at St. Bede's Episcopal Church. Small town life, light romance, fun!

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fun to see parts of Trenton in the book. I also loved that ending.