The Road to Grantchester - Softcover

A tremendous novel - shrewd, compelling and full of insight - James Runcie elevates the genre to impressive new heights -- William Boyd Written with such tenderness, and very moving - I loved it * Elizabeth Buchan * Charming, clever and warm: perfect comfort food for the soul * Joanne Harris * Runcie has the gift of a born storyteller * Daily Mail * Unsparingly, generously truthful -- Jim Crace He is the simple chonicler of English post-ward life, using irony and understatement to lay bare the pathos of ordinary lives * Sunday Telegraph * The clerical milieu is well rendered as an affectionate eye is cast over post-war England - a perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimm's * Guardian * Runcie is emerging as Grantchester's answer to Alexander McCall Smith. The book brings a dollop of Midsomer Murders to the Church of England, together with a literate charm of its own * Spectator * An engaging summer read -- Alexander McCall Smith * Observer * The series has a charming quaintness and deftly turning plot twists * Independent * It takes a first-class writer to put together a convincing storyline for such unlikely circumstances ... We should welcome him to the ranks of classic detectives * Daily Mail * Chambers turns out to be a winning clergyman-sleuth ... There is no denying the winning charm of these artfully fashioned mysteries * Independent * Totally English, beautifully written, perfectly in period and wryly funny. More please! * Country Life * The author writes with warmth and insight about the tricky questions facing individuals in a post-war, godless universe ... Runcie works his magic using a sense of suspense that creates an atmosphere of delicious anticipation * Independent * Runcie has honed his style of light, escapist, small-town crime stories to something approaching perfection * Herald * Runcie has the gift of the born storyteller with an easy style that makes it hard to put the book aside * Daily Mail * No detective since Father Brown has been more engaging than Canon Sidney Chambers. Perfect company in bed -- Salley Vickers Alexander McCall Smith's Mma Ramotswe is going to have to look to her laurels! Sidney Chambers's adventures are thoroughly captivating and engaging -- Amanda Craig, author of Hearts and Minds A perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimm's * Guardian *

James Runcie is an award-winning film-maker and the author of ten novels that have been translated into twelve languages Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death, the first in `The Grantchester Mysteries' series, was published in 2012, soon followed by Sidney Chambers and The Perils of the Night, Sidney Chambers and The Problem of Evil, Sidney Chambers and the Forgiveness of Sins, Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation and Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love. In October 2014, ITV launched Grantchester, a prime-time series starring James Norton as Sidney Chambers, with the second season airing in March 2016, and a third in May 2017. Future series are planned. James Runcie is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Commissioning Editor for Arts at BBC Radio 4. He lives in London and Edinburgh. www.jamesruncie.com www.grantchestermysteries.com @james_runcie