Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good

Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good

Jan Karon. New York: Berkley Books, 2014. 560 pp. (Paperback).

I had to go to my library to see how long it had been since I read a book by Jan Karon. It was 2004. Reading another Mitford book after all this time was like putting on my favorite pair of tennis shoes. It just felt good.

If you haven’t read any of Karon’s books, particularly from the Mitford series, let me introduce you to them: the main character is Father Tim, an older (maybe elderly, depending on your vantage point), Episcopal priest who pastors a church in a small town named Mitford. The books are not action-packed thrillers but rather warm, friendly stories that stop a little this side of sappy. 

This one seemed to drag a bit. When I checked to see why, I discovered that it was about 100 pages longer than the last Mitford book I read. I’m not sure the extra 100 pages were necessary but I enjoyed it anyway. It’s a good time for me to be somewhere safe — I’m missing somebody who was awfully good. 

EDITOR’S NOTE — The Alabama Baptist (TAB) also is missing someone who was awfully good at writing music reviews. Please join us in continuing to pray for Martine Bates Sharp as she grieves the loss of her husband, Rick Sharp, who also wrote reviews for TAB. For more information, see the July 30 issue or visit www.thealabamabaptist.org and search “Rick Sharp” (search name with quotations).