A Stillness in Bethlehem

#6 in the Gregor Demarkian Holiday Mystery series.

Father Tibor Kasparian has worked himself into physical collapse in his efforts to assist Armenian refugees arriving in his parish. His doctor prescribes rest and if possible a change of scene. Tibor has always wanted to see the Nativity Celebration put on in Bethlehem, Vermont. Re-enacted annually since 1934, the Celebration has grown from a simple, rough-hewn affair to a 3-week long extravaganza drawing tourists from all over the Northeast and beyond, and earning the town fully 1/3 of its annual budget. A worried Demarkian and Bennis Hannaford shepherd Tibor to the event.

Just before the celebration and the Cavanaugh St. contingent's arrival, 2 deaths take place that are pronounced show more hunting accidents by the State Police. But Franklin Morrison, the town's police chief, is not so sure. When he hears that Demarkian has arrived in town, Morrison is delighted; Demarkian's fame has definitely preceeded him, and Morrison is desperate to take advantage of Demarkian's murder-solving talents.

This book, as in quoth the Raven, really is a showcase for Haddam's talents in creating a zoo out of various holiday celebrations. This is obviously a take-off, although a very gentle one, on those towns, their residents, and tourists, who get themselves involved in celebrations and tourists events that may have started out simply but have evolved into ever more complicated stage shows. Haddam does this very well with the Nativity Celebration; the Celebration itself becomes a major character in the story.

Haddam also makes spousal and child abuse an integral part of the story, the first time she has really used social themes in a major way. the latter is a central part of the plot. She also does an outstanding job of showing in a brief but believable way how the bonds holding together small town society can ravel rather quickly, and how fast ordinary people can turn into a dangerous mob.

Since this is a Haddam book, there's plenty of humor. Without the usual
Cavanaugh St. gang to depend on, Tibor's conviction that Bennis is a case of anorexia nervosa and his efforts to get her to eat provide the main comic relief (outside of wandering camels).

The book is well written, the plot works, and Haddam does not overwork the social themes. As always, her recurring characters--Demarkian, Bennis, and Tibor, in this case--are well-drawn and comfortable.

Light-weight police procedural with thoughtful use of sobering themes. Highly recommended. show less

Read this Christmas cozy right before "The Twelve Clues of Christmas" by Rhys Bowen for a little Christmas fix. I was probably looking for something more light and fun for the holidays. This was well written but seemed plodding, too dense and dark and too much depth to characters I didn't care about. I know there are lots of fans of Haddam's mysteries, but this was just not what I was looking for. "Twelve Clues" just hit the spot.

This is one of my favorite of the Gregor Demarkian series so far. Gregor, Father Tibor, and Bennis go to Bethlehem, Vermont for the 6-day Nativity festival. The festival brings in tourists by the droves, and it pays about a third of the city's budget. Since the nativity play is on public property, one villager plans to sue, but she and another woman are killed in what seem to be hunting accidents. The owner of the local newspaper and the police chief are fans of Gregor's and ask him to look into the deaths.

I've read enough of this series to know that they follow a pattern. Gregor gets asked to come somewhere, murders happen. Haddam shows us the inner thoughts of the people involved, and they seem scarily accurate pictures of people. show more Gregor figures out who committed the murders, but can't prove it until something else happens. It is, though, a formula that works. show less

Father Tibor is overworked and needs a rest and to get away he wants to go to Bethlehem Vermont for the Nativity play. Unbeknown to them a murder has taken place in town and the local police need help. Shortly after they arrive, there is another murder. While Gregor is helping the police, Tibor is worried about Bennis becoming anorexic and is following her around constantly forcing food at her.

I was so looking forward to reading this book, but couldn't get very far. Nothing much happens in the first 49 pages but a lot of talking. I told myself that if there isn't a murder by page 50 I would let myself quit. Wouldn't you know, at the very end of page 50 and beginning of page 51 the plot thickens. But I still didn't finish it.