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A Matter of Cozies
A Matter of Roses
by David Manuel
Paraclete Press, 1999; paperback from Warner Books
A Matter of Roses introduces amateur sleuth Brother Bartholomew, a.k.a. Andrew Doane, of Faith Abbey, and his boyhood friend Chief Dan Burke of the Eastport Massachusetts police. In some ways, I'd be as happy if the conflict in the story were, say, confronting a community member with his or her alcoholism, rather than a murder mystery. The plot is, in other words, just a vehicle, as "the toast is the vehicle for the jam." More Jan Karon with corpses than a competitor for P. D. James, A Matter of Roses fits well within the "cozy" tradition.
A Matter of Diamonds
by David Manuel
Paraclete Press, 2000
Faith Abbey, an ecumenical community of monks and married couples on Cape Cod, boasts native son Brother Bartholomew among its celibate members. As in A Matter of Roses, the local sheriff taps Bartholomew to aid him in a murder investigation. The coroner finds a diamond and a safe-deposit key in the stomach of a drowning victim.
The victim’s boss was Clay Armstrong, hard-driving venture capitalist and patriarchal father of three daughters. Lear-like, Clay gathers his brood, drawing them together at his clifftop estate. The residence is a mirror-image replica of Fallingwater. The front yard sports a remarkable ornament -- a cast of Rodin's phallus-gripping Balzac.
Clay has some news for the kids. He has recently experienced an epiphany, at the capable hands of a fellow Yalie. Now comfortably ensconced in his college buddy's beach house, Trevor Haines has "healed" Clay of cancer and persuaded him to close down his business and start up a healing institute. Which Trevor will manage, of course.
Meanwhile, a married member of the Faith community contemplates infidelity. He does this while riding his bike, so at least he gets some healthy exercise. He'll need it--at the novel's climax he's called to race in pursuit of a villain.
Does the investigation seem peripheral to the story? It does to me. The chief attractions of A Matter of Diamonds are the human elements and tourist-destination setting. This is a good, cozy read; and yes, there is a cat in it, named Pangur Ban.
Phyllis Tickle, the editor of this series for the denominational publishing house Paraclete Press, has long covered trends in religious books for Publishers Weekly and is the author of several books.
John Leech is a writer and editor. Born in Marin, he grew up and was educated in Belmont, Santa Cruz, and Berkeley, and has worked in the book business and lay ministries. An avid reader of mysteries -- holy and genre -- he lives in the Valley of the Moon. Learn more about John at his website.
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