Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good by Jan Karon - REVIEWED

About the Book:
After five hectic years of retirement from Lord’s Chapel, Father Tim Kavanagh returns with his wife, Cynthia, from a so-called pleasure trip to the land of his Irish ancestors.

            While glad to be at home in Mitford, something is definitely missing: a pulpit. But when he’s offered one, he decides he doesn’t want it. Maybe he’s lost his passion.

            His adopted son, Dooley, wrestles with his own passion—for the beautiful and gifted Lace Turner, and his vision to become a successful country vet. Dooley’s brother, Sammy, still enraged by his mother’s abandonment, destroys one of Father Tim’s prized possessions. And Hope Murphy, owner of Happy Endings bookstore, struggles with the potential loss of her unborn child and her hard-won business.

            All this as Wanda’s Feel Good Café opens, a romance catches fire through an Internet word game, their former mayor hatches a reelection campaign to throw the bums out, and the weekly Muse poses a probing inquiry: Does Mitford still take care of its own?

            Millions of fans will applaud the chance to spend time, once more, in the often comic and utterly human presence of Jan Karon’s characters. Indeed, they have never been more sympathetic, bighearted, and engaging. 

My Thoughts:
Well folks, Jan Karon has just won my redoubled adoration!  Her Mitford series is one of only two series I've read multiple times.  Actually, I just looked at my copies, and all of the books are ragged.  When I heard Karon had published another book set in Mitford I couldn't purchase it fast enough!  It was like going home for a visit. Hours spent with good friends.  Time melted away, and I was home.

I laughed out loud several times as Father Tim gathered with the menfolks at the cafe!  And Lord Have Mercy at the new fad in town that had everyone color-coded!  Another ridiculously common event that, if you think about it, is easily identified in your own life - just maybe in a different form!   And the contest in the paper, and the way everyone cared for Hope, and Dooley and Lace figuring out life from a college kid's point of view, and the way Dooley helps Cynthia and Tim care for his siblings. and dear old Harley and his landlady Helene.  Just like going home!

This has been one of several, rather lengthy, pauses that I have taken in my fiction schedule.  This was a balm to my soul and renewed my heart to face the very un-Mitford like world that I must face. I am encouraged to pray the prayer that never fails and keep the faith!  I know God cares about the details in my life just as he does for those who inhabit Mitford.  That's why I am so drawn to this book - this series.  Jan Karon puts flesh on faith, and the citizens of Mitford walk out their faith in very imperfect, but real ways! God moves in their hearts and among their heart aches to accomplish what only He can do!  This will preach folks!! So amazingly real and honest!

If you've never been introduced to this amazing series, what are you waiting for!???

About the Author:

Jan Karon 

Several years ago, Karon left a successful career in advertising to move to the mountain village of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and write books. “I stepped out on faith to follow my lifelong dream of being an author,” she says. “I made real sacrifices and took big risks. But living, it seems to me, is largely about risk.”

Enthusiastic booksellers across the country have introduced readers of all ages to Karon’s heartwarming books. At Home in Mitford, Karon’s first book in the Mitford series, was nominated for an ABBY by the American Booksellers Association in 1996 and again in 1997. Bookstore owner, Shirley Sprinkle, says, “The Mitford Books have been our all-time fiction bestsellers since we went in business twenty-five years ago. We’ve sold 10,000 of Jan’s books and don’t see any end to the Mitford phenomenon.”