IN THE COMPANY OF OTHERS

IN THE COMPANY OF OTHERS by Jan Karon

From the back of the book:

Vacation.

The very word has been foreign to Episcopal priest Tim Kavanagh.  Now retired from tending his flock in the village of Mitford, he is making good on a promise to show his wife, Cynthia, the land of his Irish ancestors.  But after arriving at a Lough Arrow fishing lodge in the midst of a torrential downpour, they find their holiday upended by an intruder, a vanished painting, and a bitter family conflict dating back nearly a century.  As three generations struggle to find deliverance from the crucifying power of secrets, Tim and Cynthia stumble upon a faded journal that might just explain the crime - and offer a chance at redemption.

I loved the Mitford series.  I think I've read all the books at least 3 times.  When they ended, I was happy to hear that Ms. Karon was planning a three-book series about Father Tim.  I read the first of that series, HOME TO HOLLY SPRINGS, about 2 years ago.  Although different from the Mitford books, I did enjoy it.

This one, however, I didn't really like that much.  Being set in Ireland, I should have loved it for that reason alone.  But I didn't get the same warm and fuzzy feeling about Father Tim and Cynthia.  In fact, there was one part where I didn't like Father Tim much at all, and Cynthia really got on my nerves.

I can't say why this book was so different.  At times it was hard to follow the story as the time period had changed without warning.  I think too much of the book was devoted to the old journal that they were reading.  There were a lot of characters and their stories were confusing.

Overall, I was not impressed by this book.  I will, however, want to read the last book in this series - hopefully they will be back in Mitford and some of the wonderful little town characters will make an appearance.