A Nun in the Closet

A delightful read with serious plot strands. At times hilarious, At other times, thought provoking. The characters were funny and quirky with very different views of the world which created some very interesting dialogue. At times, I laughed out loud and at other times I wanted to cry. There are surprising plot and several plot strands which were well handled. A hilarious and thought provoking read.

I enjoyed this earlier book by Dorothy Gilman. It is about two cloistered nuns who are sent off to find out about a property that their order has inherited. They encounter many mysterious happenings in this alien setting as well as some incredible characters, including a man who has been shot in their house, migrant workers who work nearby, and some hippies who try to bring the nuns up-to-date on the world from which they have been sheltered for a number of years.

Sister Hyacinthe and Sister John set out to check out a property left to their abbey. The don't know anything about the man who bequeathed this property to them or why. An amazing adventure for these two nuns who travel from the cloister of their abbey into the "world" and encounter mafia, hit men, hidden money, disguised cocaine and a wounded man hidden in a closet asking for sanctuary. They nurse the man back to health and hide him as "sister Ursula". Sister John's faith and their lack of world knowledge makes them friends gets them out of some close calls. The setting of this book is the seventies, something some consider to be outdated but for someone who graduated high school in 1970, it brought back lots of memories of the decade. It's a light read and I recommend it for anyone who maybe wants a break from some of the more serious mysteries.

Fun assortment of well developed characters who find mystery after mystery with some honorable causes mixed in to spice things up.

The concept of this story about a group of nuns inheriting an old abandoned house is a good one, and I looked forward to reading it. I also enjoyed hearing about them subsisting on herbs and foods found in nature. I was okay with whom they found to be using the old house for nefarious purposes. I would have changed the neighbors into more conventional neighbors, who were still very helpful to the nuns, because the situation of the neighbors used made the story very confusing for a pleasant reading. I liked the book, but I would change just a few elements to make it better in my opinion..

This was a funny story, and as others have said, a bit dated. That is due to references, situations and people topical to 1975 the year it was published. Still it was good story if a bit thin in places. On the other hand, I could really see this being made into a movie, if it were updated a bit. It would make an interesting black comedy. Aaron Ekhart as Alfie, Drew Barrymore as Sister Hyacinthe and someone like Julianne Moore or Cate Blanchette as Sister John. I could SO see that! LOL

A Nun in the Closet by Dorothy Gillman on Audible, Narrated by Roslyn Alexander. Dorothy Gilman is one of my favorite authors. After the complete 14 book set of Mrs. Polifax adventures, I discovered Dorothy Gilman had written several other books. So, I embarked on reading or listening to all of them. I hope you will read and listen to these stories and enjoy them as much as I do. Imagine a man in a Nun's habit hiding in a closet, get the book and enjoy finding out why.

Dorothy Gilman is an exceptional writer. Always keeps your interest throughout her many books. This was a delight not to be missed. Only her could think up this amusing plot with these very descriptive characters. Enjoy this and her Mrs. Pollifax series. All good reads.